All Started With A Smell
by o0Black-Sand0o
Summary: It all started with a smell. That had been what made Shikamaru take notice of Naruto. Some things about the 'boy' just didn't add up and the more Shikamaru thought about it the more he began to wonder what Naruto wasn't telling people, and, if Shikamaru was correct, why was Naruto hiding it in the first place? The genius just hoped he was right otherwise things could get awkward!
1. Somethings Not Quite Right

_**So I started this story simply because a friend told me not too. He should have realized that it would only encourage me. Funny thing is he now likes it. Have fun with that, Shaun. You tried to stop the existence of this story.**_

There was something not quite right about him. The problem was the dark haired boy had trouble working out what it was. He had always felt that there was something off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As they got older, the feeling only got worse. It had started when Iruka-sensei had made them sit next to each other in detention. There had been this smell. He had sniffed, wondering where it was coming from. It was light, but natural, human, but not male, and there were only three people in the room, all males. He had found that the source of the smell was the boy sitting next to him. Unfortunately said boy had noticed.

"Shikamaru, what the hell are you doing? Are you sniffing me?" The boy moved back, nearly falling out of his chair, his face scrunched into a frown.

He fought a blush at the blond's words. "No," he protested in a huff. "I was wondering where that smell was coming from?"

Confusion filled blue eyes before the blond sniffed, then pulled his jacket up to his nose and inhaled deeply. "I don't smell anything."

"Naruto, Shikamaru," barked Iruka-sensei. "No talking!"

The blond's reply confused Shikamaru, seeing as if the smell was unusual for Naruto to give off, he would have commented, even if it was simply a change in laundry powder or soap. However, it seemed as though Naruto found the somewhat girly smell he gave off as normal. Shikamaru pondered this some more as he put his head down into his crossed arms, trying to go to sleep on the desk. All thoughts were banished from his mind, however, when something hit him on the top of his head.

"No sleeping in class!"

"What a drag!" Shikamaru muttered, sitting up with a lazy yawn.

Naruto put a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle the giggle that escaped his mouth, making Shikamaru raise his eyebrow in surprise. It wasn't often he heard boys giggle. Most boys did their best not to giggle, since it was seen as a girly action. The blond didn't seem to care though, as he discretely pointed at Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes, thinking that the situation couldn't be that funny until he saw that Iruka-sensei was also smiling in amusement. Naruto decided to take him out of his misery by reaching out, only to have Shikamaru cringe. The other boy didn't seem to notice though, and Shikamaru wasn't even sure why he was so uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Close your eyes."

The blond brushed his fingers over the top of Shikamaru's head, making the dark haired boy shutter at the gentle touch. He had never realized how small and soft Naruto's hands were before, even under all the calluses from training. When the boy had stopped, Shikamaru opened his eyes to find the table and his lap covered in white flakes, flakes he quickly realized that were made of chalk dust, left over from the blackboard eraser that Iruka-sensei had thrown at him.

"Thanks," he muttered, his throat constricting around the word as he watched Naruto smack his hands together, getting rid of the chalk. The hands really were small, and slender, covered in smooth, soft but hard skin, a combination he thought impossible.

"You're welcome." Naruto closed his eyes, smiling widely and putting his hands behind his head. "Hey, Iruka-sensei, can we go?"

Iruka-sensei looked at the clock before sighing. He knew that both Naruto and Shikamaru were going to score low on their next test, no matter how long he kept them. He nodded. "Fine, but study for the next test." His words were hollow.

"I do," Naruto muttered glumly before Shikamaru ran from the room, showing more energy than he ever had.

He didn't know why, but the blond had shaken him, making him uncomfortable. There was something not right about Naruto, but Shikamaru couldn't quite work it out. The only conclusion he could reach was that Naruto was actually a girl, which was ridiculous. Naruto acted and looked like a boy, even if his featured were softer than most boys, with a curved jaw line, rounded eyes, and fuller lips. There was still no way that Naruto was a girl.

The thought plagued Shikamaru all throughout his academic life. By the time he graduated he was beginning to hope that Naruto was actually a girl, like the signs pointed to. The little things that made him believe that the blond was female were… intriguing to him, and even other things, like Naruto's ambitious personality, his humour and especially the way that Shikamaru couldn't predict his behavior made Naruto draw Shikamaru's eye without even trying. The dark haired boy had always liked people watching, almost as much as he liked cloud watching, and Naruto had became his favourite person to watch. He told himself it was because there were so many questions surrounding the blond. The biggest question was if he was really a she, why was she hiding her gender?

It was through his time observing Naruto that he realized something important that many had overlooked. He had discovered the secret four months into observing Naruto, and was impressed with how well the other 'boy' hid it. Once he realized though, he had to decide what to do about the information, since he knew it could not go unchanged. The whole day after he figured it out, he debated what to do, before coming to the conclusion that he had to talk to Iruka-sensei, only in private, for Naruto's own sake. As class drew to a close Shikamaru was happy that no one had received detention, making them stay late. It was one of the first times that had happened.

After waiting for the class to empty, Shikamaru slowly walked down to the front of the classroom, where his sensei stood wiping the blackboard clean. "Iruka-sensei," he said once he had stopped in front of the desk, his hands in his pockets and trying to look bored. Truthfully, he was worried about how his teacher was going to react and what would happen to Naruto. He had a feeling the blond didn't keep the information to himself out of pride alone, but out of fear of what would happen to him.

The Chunnin turned, his dark, kind eyes locking onto Shikamaru's, noticing the tension in the boy's shoulders, even as he tried to hide it. The encouraging smile the sensei gave calmed him, and reminded him that even though Iruka-sensei acted mean at times he cared, especially for Naruto, though he would never admit he favoured the blond like his own son, or brother.

"Is there something you need, Shikamaru?" Iruka-sensei asked, moving away from the board and around the desk.

The black-haired boy looked at the ground, going back over the information in his head to make sure he was correct before opening his mouth. "It's about Naruto…"

Iruka-sensei groaned, dropping his head into his hand. "What did he do this time? I swear if it's anything like the tuna incident then I'm going to give him detention for the next month!"

"No," Shikamaru yelped, waving his hands around as though he was wiping the words out of the air. "He didn't do anything; I just realized something today about him."

"Oh." This seemed to peak the man's interest. "And what is that?"

"Well, I noticed that his always frowning at the board, at first I thought it was because he was confused, but normally, people would write down the information so they can study it later and understand it, or they will ask questions, but he doesn't take notes. What is more, is that he gets frustrated with simply writing tasks. He said after our detention for our test results that he does study, yet his marks are horrible."

Iruka-sensei frowned in confusion. "You're not here to make fun of him, are you? If so, I think I should remind you that your scores aren't much better."

"No," Shikamaru sighed, his shoulders slumped. "I'm trying to say that I think Naruto is illiterate!"

The confession seemed to stun the older male for a moment before he chuckled uncertainly. "No, he couldn't be, I would notice…" he paused. "I mean… I must have asked him to read out loud… surely, he couldn't have gotten into the academy if he couldn't read."

"You have asked him to read stuff out, but he always asks where we are up to and annoys you so you ask someone else and it's not farfetched that he can't read. Children here tend to first learn how to read from their parents and become more proficient with it through school, but Naruto doesn't have any parents and I don't know if Naruto had anyone to teach him."

He noticed the faraway, horrified look on Iruka-sensei's face as he realized that Shikamaru may have been right, meaning he had not realized how much one of his students was struggling. "I'll talk to him, but please don't tell anyone, some people are already unhappy Naruto is in the academy… because he's a prankster."

Choosing not to point out that he knew Iruka-sensei lied, though he didn't know why, Shikamaru instead nodded, his hands back in his pockets. "Well, good luck with that, I'm going to go watch the clouds."

/ / / / / / /

Iruka-sensei found Naruto sitting on the fourth hokage's head, looking up at the sky and taking deep, measured breaths. The ninja recognized what the blond was doing, seeing as he had found Naruto doing it multiple times. He was hungry but either the villagers wouldn't take his money, or he had none. It was no secret to Iruka how the civilians in particular treated Naruto. The poor child was chased, used to be beaten until Iruka put a stop to it, had his hair pulled out, hence he never let it reach passed his ears anymore, and was charged twice as much at stores for items that were nearly off, meaning he went hungry often.

That was how Iruka had met Naruto. He had found the blond sitting by the river, taking deep, measured breaths as though working through pain. Before he was able to ask if the little boy was okay, the boy had clutched his stomach and thrown up, tears streaming down his face and anguish over his features. The brunette charged forward and tried to comfort the child as he threw up what could only be the lining of his stomach. The blond tried to crawl away from him until Iruka promised he wouldn't hurt him and started to rub soothing circles on his back. That had been the first time he took Naruto to Ichiroku ramen, since the boy said he enjoyed the instant kind.

"Hungry?" Iruka asked as he drew close enough that Naruto would hear him.

The blond jumped into a seated position, turning to look over his shoulder. "Iruka-sensei, yeah, but I don't have any money, someone stole it."

"Well come on, I'll take you for ramen."

That made a large smile to appear on the boy's face as he stood up and hugged his sensei. "You're the best, believe it!"

"Alright, get off me." Iruka detached Naruto's arms from around his stomach with a chuckle before leading the boy to the ramen shop. He watched the boy out of the corner of his eye, wondering how he should approach the subject.

"Pork ramen, please!" Naruto stated cheerful once he had sat down.

That was when Iruka got an idea to see if Shikamaru was right first. "Naruto, you always order that, ever since I suggested it to you when we first came here. Why don't you look at the menu and pick something different. If you don't like it, I'll buy you some pork ramen after." He held out the menu, trying not to give away what he was up to.

"Nah, it's alright, I like pork ramen." Naruto waved him off, closing his eyes as he smiled widely.

"It never hurts to try something new. I might, as well. Read out the options and we can both choose something." Iruka pushed the menu into Naruto's hands, who looked at it with a frown before slamming it down on the counter, making Teuchi look over with a surprised look.

Naruto started shaking, clenching his fists on top of the menus' glossy surface. After a moment he turned to glare at the dark haired male, making him shutter. There was no doubt that the blond was the container for the Nine Tails when he gave people that look. It looked as though he was contemplating striking out and hitting Iruka, but then his shoulders sagged and a look of defeat came across his face. "How did you work it out?"

It took him only a moment to decide that it would be wiser to leave Shikamaru's name out of it, encase Naruto sought revenge through pranking on the lazy boy. "I started to notice things during class time that made me start to think that you were incapable of reading. It seemed as though I was correct."

"Now what are you going to do? Kick me out of the academy?"

"No." Iruka shook his head for extra clarity. "I'm going to teach you how to read. We'll start now." He slid the menu closer to him, so that both he and Naruto could read it. "This one here, is spelt S-A-L-T, and is pronounced salt." He pointed out each letter as he said them. "This word is spelt R-A-M-E-N. Do you know what it says?"

Naruto frowned and looked over the menu, seeming to notice that everything on the menu had that particular word next to it except for the drinks. "Ramen?"

"Yeah." A smile spread across Iruka's face at seeing the joy in Naruto's eyes. The boy was obviously eager to learn this skill that had been eluding him and causing him so many problems at school. They ordered their dinner, which was their usual order, as Naruto and Iruka progressed through the menu. When they reached the end, Iruka would point at random words and ask Naruto to read them. It was slow work, but the blond was slowly learning the techniques needed to read.

/ / / / / / / /

He woke with a start, choking on his own saliva. Looking around, he was surprised to see there were only two boys, including himself, in the inside training ground, which bewildered him. The blond sitting next to him gave no indication that he, too, found this unusual and instead continued to read the manga with a slight frown on his face, slowly moving his lips to spell out a word. It had been two weeks since Shikamaru had spoken with Iruka-sensei and he could see the difference in Naruto when it came to class work. He was still dead last, but he was closing the large gap that had been between Shikamaru and himself. Even when he skipped class with Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru, he was always reading, trying to become better at the skill.

"Where are Choji and Kiba?" Shikamaru asked, sitting up and quickly wiping the drool from the side of his face before his friend could see it.

Naruto's blue eyes slowly moved away from the page to meet the dark haired boy's gaze. "I don't know. Choji said something about food, and I think Kiba went to the bathroom, but it's not like they ever tell me anything." Naruto's next words were said so quietly that the lazy boy nearly missed them. "It's not like they like me."

Shikamaru knew Naruto was correct to some extent. The only reason the other boys let the blond hang out with them was because Shikamaru himself asked them to. He had wanted to study Naruto up close, or at least that is what he told himself, and had invited Naruto to hang out with them one day. Since then, the blond boy was always with them when they snuck out of class, often being the one to come up with the idea for the distraction. There were also a few times they would have been caught if it was not for Naruto, who seemed to have the ability to hide even from the anbu, even with his brightly coloured clothing. However, even though they had been reluctant at first, Shikamaru could see that his two friends were warming up to Naruto as he had himself. They no longer saw the blond as a nuisance but as a friend, though they would never admit it out loud, just as he would not admit, even to himself that he cared what the blond thought.

"Oh, I wanted to thank you," Naruto exclaimed suddenly, drawing Shikamaru out of his thoughts.

"For what?"

"For talking to Iruka-sensei for me. I know it was you who pointed out I couldn't read." Naruto smiled widely, scratching the back of his head. "Everyone thinks I'm an idiot but I actually notice more than people realize. I noticed you watching me, then how you hung back after class, right before Iruka-sensei tracked me down and confronted me, and I noticed the look you and Iruka-sensei shared when you walked into class the next day. It was you who pointed out I couldn't read."

"Umm." Shikamaru cleared his throat, feeling a blush appear on his face. He hadn't realized he was being so obvious, or perhaps he hadn't realized how observant Naruto could be. "You're welcome. I see you like reading manga."

"Yeah, but this one has words I can't work out." He threw himself into a lying position, moving the book over so Shikamaru could see the word he was pointing at. "What does that word say?"

"Grotesque. The Q and U together can make a couple of different sounds." Shikamaru slowly moved into a lying position like Naruto's, supporting himself on his forearms and making sure not to touch the other boy.

"'I'm telling you'," Naruto read out-loud in a slow voice. "'The fight was grotesque, Ko…kot…etsu'?" The blond looked at Shikamaru to see if he was right. When he received a nod, he grinned proudly and went back to reading out to Shikamaru. Naruto unknowingly moved closer to him when he squirmed to get comfortable.

Shikamaru told himself not to react and instead pay attention to what Naruto was reading but he was engulfed by that feminine fragrance again that seemed to always cling to the so called boy. On top of that he was trying not to breathe too deeply. Not only would he get a lung full of Naruto's scent but he could feel every one of Naruto's breaths, feel his words rumble through his side, and feel the fabric of his jacket rub against his arm. Shikamaru was worried that if he breathed to deeply, it would distract Naruto, or make him aware to how close they were, or worse, making him feel how fast Shikamaru's heart was racing. The last one confused the dark haired boy, since he had not done any exercise, so his heart shouldn't have been beating so fast that it felt as though it was rattling through his head.

Eventually Kiba came back in with his hands in his pockets, looking bored, though Shikamaru noticed that there was a small tilt to the corner of his mouth, as though he found something amusing. He didn't voice what it was, so Shikamaru decided to keep focusing on Naruto as he progressed through the manga. It was an interesting story, with fighting and comedy in it, as well as enough challenging words that Naruto was learning more and more as he made his way through it. After some time, Choji wondered in with a grocery bag hanging from his wrist and an open bag of barbeque potato chips on his hands.

"Here you go, Naruto," Choji said as he pulled a cup from the bag. "It's a new flavor of ramen. I thought you might want to try it."

Naruto smiled widely, bracing himself on the floor to push himself up, onto his feet. He seemed not to notice that his hand was on top of Shikamaru's, making the other boy cringe and drop his head. "Thanks, Choji." Once on his feet, he noticed that he had hurt Shikamaru's hand, since the other boy was now sitting up and rubbing it. "Sorry, Shikamaru." Naruto crouched down, taking the boy's hand in his own and looked over it. "It doesn't look to badly hurt at least."

"Come on, Naruto," Choji interjected, noticing that his best friend was uncomfortable. "I'll show you where the kettle in this place is and we can start eating these." Choji threw Naruto's cup of instant ramen at him before pulling his own out of the bag and dropped the rest of his snacks on the ground where he had been sitting.

The blond followed Choji with a slight bounce in his step. Shikamaru found himself smiling at this, noticing how cheery Naruto was at the small gesture of kindness. He had noticed how Naruto responded to the smallest amount of kindness, as though he had never experienced it before and was highly grateful to the person who gave it to him. The smile he gave after someone was nice to him was always the best of all his smiles. It wasn't wide, like his fake cheerful one, but small and soft, as though he did not even realize it was there, he just couldn't help but smile. Shikamaru always liked to watch it appear on the blond's face and had even had the pleasure of causing it once when he knocked Naruto out of the way of an oncoming ball that someone had violently kicked towards Naruto's head.

He had held out his hand to the blond, asking if he was alright as he pulled Naruto to his feet. The other boy had assured Shikamaru that he was and had given him that small smile as he thanked Shikamaru for saving him. The genius was sure he was having a heart attack at that moment, but later realized he wasn't and assumed it was something he ate.

When the two came back, they were happily slurping down ramen with disposable chopsticks and talking about what their favourite kinds of ramen were. Shikamaru heard Naruto say something about having started to like instant ramen because it was cheap and had a long expiry date, making the dark haired boy remember something he had heard his parents talking about. He had been young at the time, only just having been accepted into the academy, and had not understood what they were talking about as he hid behind the kitchen door.

"_I can't believe they are letting that monster into the academy. It'll be in Shikamaru's year. What about if they are in the same class?" his mother had yelled, sounding both angry and scared._

"_He's not a monster, he's a child, and he saved us!" Shikaku sighed, disgust at his wife's words barely hidden within his sentence._

"_We have to tell Shikamaru to stay away from it! I can't believe the thing still lives. You think it would have starved to death."_

_Shikamaru jumped when the sound of a fist slamming into their kitchen table thundered through the room. "You will do no such thing! I hope Shikamaru meets the boy, I hope he becomes his friend, and I hope that that boy finds a cherished ally in our son! He is tormented in the village, he is denied decent food, he is denied happiness and safety, all because that boy became a savior, without a say in the matter. He is not a monster, he is the one who saved us from it, and if you tell Shikamaru to stay away from him then you can leave."_

_He had never heard his father speak like that, especially to his mother. His mother was a scary woman, one who could easily keep a man like Shikaku in line, but this boy, one that his mother saw as a monster, seemed to be someone important to Shikaku, someone that made him stand up to his wife. The little boy was curious about who they were talking about, but their conversation seemed to be over and Shikamaru knew his father would come to see if he was still asleep after the yelling. He ran as fast as he could towards his bedroom, diving under the covers and faking sleep as his father wondered in._

Now he wondered if his father had been talking about Naruto, since it seemed to fit, but he did not understand why his mother would call him a monster, or why his father would call him a savior. He had noticed though, that many hated and avoided Naruto, but he had no idea why. He had seen the hated looks the village gave Naruto, and when he asked his dad about it, he had told Shikamaru to treat the blond how he wanted. Sure, Naruto was annoying at time, and could be really dense at the worst moments, he was a clown, and didn't seem to have any talent at being a ninja, but there was something about him, something that prevented Shikamaru from hating him. He could see it was the same for Kiba and Choji. The three boys didn't exactly see Naruto as a friend, and if the blond chose to stop hanging out with them, they probably wouldn't stop him, but it was clear that all three of them saw that Naruto was an honest person. He wouldn't use or trick them and he honestly valued their presence. If Naruto was the one his father was talking about, than he had done one thing his father wished of him, he was an ally of Naruto's.

He watched the blond sit down next to him, powering through his cup of ramen. When done, he put it down with a sigh, seconds after Choji, which was an accomplishment.

"Not bad," Choji commented, crossing his legs. "But I think the broth was a bit on the weak side. What do you think, Naruto?"

"Truthfully, I'm just happy to eat something, since I was starting to feel a little sick, and Iruka-sensei yells at me when I let that happen." Naruto shrugged before pulling a brown paper bag from his pocket that looked pathetically deflated. "How much do I owe you?"

Choji, who was rummaging through his plastic bag didn't look up as he waved Naruto off. "It was on me, I like trying new foods with someone else who likes to eat." The boy finally raised his eyes as Naruto thanked him, noticing the paper bag substituting for a wallet. It was obvious that there wasn't much money in there and that Naruto didn't choose to be hungry. "Do you want some of my chips? I love sharing, just don't take the last chip." Choji wasn't lying, he did love to share his chips with his friends, but both Kiba and Shikamaru could see that he wanted to make sure Naruto was fed. If there was one thing Choji was against above all else, it was someone going without food.

"Wow, thanks, Choji, that's really nice of you," Naruto exclaimed, putting his 'wallet' away.

"Why don't you get a real wallet?" Kiba asked, frowning at the blond in confusion. "I can't imagine that one is very secure."

"Ba'cuse Ah can' afford id," explained Naruto with a mouth full of chips.

Shikamaru was impressed that none flew out his mouth as he spoke, something he felt the need to state. This caused the blond to laugh and nearly choke on his mouth full, making Shikamaru beat him on the back until he could breathe again.

"TRY NOT TO KILL ME, WILL YA?!" Naruto yelled, moving close to Shikamaru's face.

"LEARN TO SWALLOW YOUR DAMN FOOD!" Shikamaru pushed the boy back, trying to will away his blush as he narrowly avoided touching Naruto's chest. He ignored the raised eyebrow Choji shot him, making him wonder if Choji had noticed the blush or his odd behavior. He hoped not. He didn't want to explain his theory that Naruto was really a girl; since he didn't think even his best friend would believe him.

A week later, Naruko found a green frog wallet sitting in front of his door, the clasp looking like a large, silver smile. The wallet had two, black, goggle eyes that rolled around, and under the clasp was a white cloth strip with the words 'Naruto's Wallet' scrolled in handwriting that looked as though the person had put a lot of effort into making the words neat. The blond picked it up and looked around, not seeing anyone. Smiling the happiest smile anyone had seen on his face, he held the wallet up like it was a cherished pet. "I'm going to call you Gama-chan."

Cradling the gift in his arms, he unlocked his door and walked in, the clear sound of the locking being fastened ringing through the hallway. Shikamaru let out the breath he had been holding when he heard that, moving out from around the corner. He had been worried that Naruto would walk down the hallway to see if anyone was hiding there, but luckily he seemed to not want to question the charity. Truthfully he didn't know why he had asked his father for the money to buy the wallet when he saw it in the store. It was believed to be good luck to have a frog in a person's wallet, like a figurine, so he figured having a frog wallet would be even luckier, helping Naruto to get more money. He hadn't expected the other boy to cherish the gift so much, but he was happy he did.

/ / / / / / / /

He wasn't surprised when he found out Naruto failed the genin exam. The moment he entered the room and was asked to perform a shadow clone, he knew that Naruto would not pass. He saw the boy, sitting on the swing, looking at those that graduated. He had contemplated going up to him and talking to him but then Shikamaru's parents had arrived to congratulate him. By the time he disentangled himself from them, Naruto had disappeared. It was probably for the best. He had no clue what he would say to the blond, since Shikamaru saw it coming. Everyone did.

It was because of this that he was stunned to find Naruto sitting at one of the tables amongst the graduates. Truthfully, he had been annoyed that Naruto thought he could get away with trying to sneak into the genin graduation. It wouldn't work. The moment Iruka-sensei walked in, he would be busted. He stopped his decent down the stairs when he spotted the blond.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" His tone may have been harsher than it should have been. "This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here unless you graduated."

Naruto sat up, glaring at Shikamaru. "Oh, yeah, do you see this?" He pointed a thumb at his forehead where the dark haired boy saw a ninja headband. "Do you see this? Open your eyes, Shikamaru, it's a regulation headband. We're going to be training together, how do you like that?" He smiled widely, his eyes closed.

Shikamaru put a hand on his hip, quickly processing the information. He honestly didn't know how he felt about Naruto training with him. He was shocked, annoyed, happy, and slightly short of breath. In response he huffed.

"Let me put it this way," Naruto went on. "I look great in this headgear, like it was made for me. Believe it!"

Sweeping his eyes over the blond's forehead, he noticed that it already had a scratch or two on it, and had a slightly different shade cloth on it than Shikamaru's. The taller boy instantly recognized it as Iruka-sensei's, making him wonder why Naruto didn't get one of the new ones like everyone else. A few harsh replies came to mind but when he looked at Naruto's genuinely happy smile, he couldn't bring himself to say any of them. Many of Naruto's smiles were fake, but this one wasn't. "Congratulations, Naruto."

The look of surprise on Naruto's face was worth it. "Thanks, Shikamaru. Congratulations to you too."

Clearing his throat, he nodded and headed over to Choji, who was looking at Shikamaru with a questioning look. To try and stop the boy from speaking the question that was clearly on his mind, Shikamaru asked him what he would like to do after being assigned to groups when they hung out. It worked to some extent, for it turned Choji's mind to food, since he wanted to eat.

There was a commotion behind the dark haired boy, but he would tell from the words that reached his ears that it was just Sasuke's fangirls. A quick glance at Naruto's direction, since he knew the blond boy had been sitting next to Sasuke, found the blond on the ground, looking bewildered and annoyed. Shikamaru could only roll his eyes at the girls until he saw Naruto frown. The look in Naruto's eyes was not something he had been able to witness before, but he identified it easily. Naruto was studying the situation.

Next moment, the blond was crouching on the desk, frowning at Sasuke. The dark haired boy stared back with a blank look. Shikamaru could never tell what kind of relationship those two had, since they would often seek each other out, sitting next to each other, but everything indicated that they hated each other. His face tightened and an uncomfortable feeling entered his stomach as he watched Naruto lean closer to the popular boy. The two boys ignored the Sasuke's fanclub as they yelled at Naruto. Next moment, the boy sitting in front of Sasuke leant back with a laugh, unknowingly knocking Naruto forward.

Shikamaru couldn't register what he was seeing at first. He didn't seem to be the only one. His mind went foggy, his eyes widened. His jaw dropped open as the girls all started to yell. Naruto and Sasuke pulled apart with disgusted looks on their faces, holding their throats and spitting. Naruto suddenly stopped and went still, whispering something about danger. He couldn't blame the blond. Sasuke's fanclub looked like they were out for blood.

"Naruto, you are so dead!" Sakura growled.

"Hey, wait, it was an accident." Naruto held up his hands in a defensive manner.

Sakura cracked her knuckles. "You're dead!"

Naruto looked scared with the girls glaring at him. "Hold on."

The girls rushed him, pulling him off the table and punching him. Naruto instantly put up his arms, tucking his head in to try and protect his head and stomach. He did it so quickly that Shikamaru wondered how much practice Naruto had with defending himself. Shaking his head, Shikamaru walked forward, grabbing Ino's arm as she went in for another punch.

"That's enough. It was an accident and beating up Naruto won't change that." He pushed his way in between Naruto and the group of girls, staring at them with an annoyed look. Looking over his shoulder he noticed Naruto slumping against the desk, bruised. He hadn't thrown a single hit at the girls.

A girl that Shikamaru thought was called Aya piped up, her two bushy pigtails poking in the air. "But he stole Sasuke's first kiss!"

His heart stopped before clenching painfully. Looking at Naruto again, seeing him sitting on the floor, his tongue prodding the bruise forming on his lip, made the feeling worse. Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru faced the crowd again, ignoring the worried look Choji shot him. "Well it happened, so get over it."

Shikamaru turned around, bending down to help Naruto up. As he did, Sakura charged passed to get the seat next to Sasuke. Grasping his arm, Shikamaru pulled Naruto up onto the seat. "What a drag."

"Thanks, Shikamaru," Naruto whispered, giving him a small smile before slumping in his seat.

He swallowed before nodding mutely.

Ino growled, allowing Shikamaru to ignore his racing heartbeat. "Billboard Brow, what do you think you are doing?"

Before Ino could start a fight with Sakura, that would no doubt result in more pain for Naruto, Shikamaru grabbed her arm and dragged her to the table behind Sasuke's, practically throwing her into the chair just as Iruka-sensei walked into the room. The dark haired boy rested his chin on his palm as he half listened to what Iruko-sensei was telling them about the teams they were going to join. Truthfully he didn't care who he ended up in a group with as long as he didn't have to put up with Ino. She was currently whispering snide comments about Sakura and Naruto under her breath. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice that Iruka-sensei was wearing a headband identical to his own.

"As of today you are all ninjas. To get here you have difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing! What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin, first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad will be led by a jonin, an elite ninja."

Whilst Iruka-sensei spoke, Shikamaru watched Naruto, wondering if he was going to move from his place, slumped on the desk.

"Well, someone's got to be in Sasuke's group," Ino said in a snide voice. "I wonder who."

"I don't know," Sakura replied in an airy voice.

Naruto slowly sat up, looking around. Shikamaru wondered what he was looking for. Perhaps he had temporary memory loss and didn't know where he was or what was going on. Then the dark haired boy noticed Naruto look at Sakura. He felt sick. It seemed Naruto had a crush on a girl who thought he was scum, though she had no reason to think that. She was just stuck up and anyone who wasn't Sasuke wasn't worth her time. Truthfully, Shikamaru couldn't tell who he wanted to be in a group with, though Choji would be nice.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strength and abilities," Iruka-sensei continued. "So that's how we set them up."

Shikamaru made sure to keep his ears open for his name, but other than that, he didn't see a point to paying attention. He definitely noticed that Naruto ended up on a team with Sakura, which Naruto was overly thrilled with, and Sasuke, which he was not so thrilled about. Turning his head away from the table in front of him, Shikamaru tried to ignore the feeling gnawing at his insides. A barely suppressed groan passed his lips when he heard that he was in a team with Ino. At least he had Choji to keep him company.

When he met his sensei, with the rest of his newly formed team, he would have been impressed, if he could see through the smoke that clouded his vision. They were able to get their sensei to put out his cigarette when they couldn't speak around their coughs. He seemed like a competent leader. Although his habit was far from healthy; Shikamaru knew that almost every ninja had his or her vise. His own father drank, most of Choji's family ate, and Ino was obsessive over boys and looks (though he couldn't tell if that was an actual 'vise'). If he had to guess his own, he would say that he enjoyed studying people to much, or was lazy.

Asuma-Sensei had them name their favourite and least favourite things, as well as a dream of theirs. Shikamaru groaned when Ino used it as an excuse to talk about Sasuke for five minutes. It would have been longer, no doubt, if their sensei hadn't put a stop to it. It was obvious that he was paying close attention to all three of them and the way they behaved. Once they had answered his questions about themselves, he told them something they did not expect.

"Only three teams will move on to the next level of ninja. Some jonins decide within days whether or not their team will be sent back to the academy. Now, I'm not going to do that. We have a couple of months before we decide and I plan to use them. However, if you all show little improvement or talent, I will have to send you back earlier. You shouldn't worry though, I'm sure you will all do well. One thing you have to remember is that you are a team. You pass or fail together, so if you slack off, or refuse to work, you are letting down the other two members in your team." He let them think over his words for a moment.

Shikamaru shot a look at Ino. He had no doubt that he could work with Choji, and that the heavy boy wouldn't let him down, but Ino he wasn't so sure about. For all he knew, she could be contemplating whether Sasuke would be sent back, since he was on a team with Naruto, giving her the opportunity to be put on his team. To his surprise, the blonde had what looked like a determined look on her face. Perhaps he had misjudged her.

Turning back to their sensei, Shimamaru listened to the man as he talked about their training schedule and what kind of missions they were liable to go on for the first couple of months. It seemed all routine really, which was fine with Shikamaru. Once they were finished, they were told to meet the next day in one of the training grounds to work on team work. Their sensei wasn't going to let them on any missions until he had learnt their strengths and weaknesses and they had started to learn to cover them with team strategy.


	2. Naruto Uzumaki

_**Second chapter down. Don't hold your breath for the third chapter to be uploaded as quick, since I refused to post the story until I had two chapters done, hence the quick update. I was surprised at the number of people who are already following this story.**_

His team had adapted to working together quickly. At first, he had been worried. He had a student obsessed over looks and boys, a student obsessed with food, and a student who seemed to only like being awake to sleep. It hadn't looked good for them but then he had them train against him. He had given them ten minutes to strategies, away from his line of sight, and then they either attacked him or he went after them. Before the time was up, he found himself being maneuvered into trap after trap. He was able to get out of them, but that was beside the point. Three twelve-year-olds were able to work together to put their sensei on the back-step. After the fourth training session, when Shikamaru had wondered off to nap, Asuma had asked his other two students how they had managed to come up with a plan so quickly that worked so well. He was even bleeding!

It was a surprise to hear the name of the lazy ninja come out of their mouths. He had asked them to repeat themselves at first. When he had confirmed that he had heard Choji and Ino correctly, he had sent them to train together whilst he went in search of Shikamaru. He hadn't noticed the dark haired boy disappear at first but Choji was able to point him in the right direction. The boy was sitting at the base of a tree, leaning against the wood, looking out at a field in front of him. The look on Shikamaru's face made Asuma pause. Normally the boy looked bored but at that moment it looked as though he had came across a puzzle that had to be solved; only, he didn't know the correct answer.

Following Shikamaru's line of sight, Asuma noticed the people sitting in the clearing, having a picnic. He tried to not chock on his own saliva. He had not expected to see _Kakashi Hatake_ having a picnic with three children. Asuma especially didn't expect the copy-ninja to look so happy whilst doing so. Nevertheless, there he was, sitting with a girl with pink hair and two boys. The girl was giving the dark haired boy doe eyes, which the dark haired boy ignored, and the blond was talking with Kakashi happily. Even from a distance, Asuma could see that the blond had a bit of food on his face, and that Kakashi was amused at something.

"I thought you would be sleeping."

Shikamaru jumped, looking around with an almost guilty expression on his face. Clearly he had not noticed his sensei standing next to him, having been too busy watching Kakashi's team. He quickly calmed down, a bored look coming over his face as he turned back to face the training area in front of them. "I was going to lie over there but Team Seven is there. Last thing I wanted was for Ino to come looking for me to yell at me about something and to see Sasuke. She's extra annoying around him."

Asuma turned his eyes back onto Kakashi's team, looking more closely at the two boys. "Which one is Sasuke?" When Shikamaru looked at him in surprise Asuma shrugged. "I don't pay much attention to gossip so I'm not too sure who he is."

"Don't say that to Ino. He's the one with the dark hair in the shape of a duck's butt." Shikamaru lazily pointed, which did little, since at that point the two boys started arguing, moving closer as though their angry postures and scrunched up faces weren't doing well enough to convey their hostility.

His description was enough for Asuma and made him chuckle. He turned his eyes back onto Shikamaru, who had closed his eyes and leant his head back. "I've been thinking, I have a couple of puzzles and games you might like. I'll bring one around tomorrow afternoon."

Shikamaru shrugged, slowly rising to his feet and brushing dirt off his pants. "Alright, I'll let mum know." He walked towards the training grounds they had been using, putting his back towards Kakashi's team. "May as well find somewhere else to relax."

/ / / / /

Shikamaru was easily the laziest genius he had ever met. There was little to motivate the boy. But, Asuma had to admit, when it came to missions, the boy was reliable. It had gotten to the point that Asuma would ask Shikamaru to come up with the battle plan, and suggest things to improve it after the young boy had outlined his ideas. There was no doubt that Shikamaru would become one of the greatest strategist the village had ever seen… if he could be bothered.

Asuma knew there had to be something to drive Shikamaru to be ambitious, to think about his future and to work harder in becoming a ninja. So far, Asuma had learnt that his mother was no help. In Shikamaru's words, she was 'troublesome'. Choji was good at getting Shikamaru to work, but Asuma couldn't rely on the heavy boy to always pull Shikamaru into line.

He needed to know more about the boy, but that was hard. Shikamaru never divulged anything about himself unless he wanted to or you somehow tricked him into it, such as with his IQ. Asuma knew that Shikamaru liked naps, and watching clouds and that was the extent of it. He knew a list of things in regards to Choji and Ino.

He took this time to study Shikamaru, who was sleeping by the fire with Choji and Ino. This was their first mission that forced them to make camp. It was still a D rank mission; unlike Kakashi's team that went on a C rank turned A rank for their first away mission. It wasn't like he was bitter or anything. But back to Shikamaru. The kid was lying on his back, his knees making sharp bulges in his sleeping bag as he kicked and twitched. His face was scrunched up and he muttered incoherently. Asuma didn't know if he should wake the boy up or not. He thought about getting his students to do some of the night shift to get a feel for it, even if it meant that he had to pretend to be asleep.

Just as he was about to move from his position and wake up Shikamaru, the boy rolled over. His face relaxed, a small smile appearing. Asuma had no clue what the boy could be dreaming about to make him look so at peace. He had never even looked that way whilst awake. Even though his eyes were closed, Asuma could tell there was something to the expression, he just didn't know what.

As though reading his sensei's mind, Shikamaru unknowingly provided him with the answer.

"Naruto."

The word was said so softly that the man almost missed it but once it registered in his mind his jaw dropped, his cigarette falling onto his lap. Swearing quietly, he patted the spark that had appeared on his pants. Grabbing his smoke off the ground, he put it out, before it could burn him again. Once he was out of danger of combustion Asuma looked back at Shikamaru again, who had put his arm under his head as a pillow. He still had that same small smile but as he buried his face into the crook of his arm, his smile grew.

_How interesting_ Asuma thought. _So there is a Naruto in his life. No, that can't be right. If he was dating a girl, Ino would have mentioned it. She loves to gossip. He must not have said anything to anyone. Well then._

He left Shikamaru to his dream. The boy slept peacefully until morning where the sun blinded all three genins. Ino woke with a grumble, Choji woke asking about breakfast, and Shikamaru… he woke with that same smile, as though the bright yellow of the sun was something amazing. The smile disappeared once his sleep disoriented mind woke up. His bored expression came back into place.

Asuma didn't mind. Shikamaru might not realize it, but Asuma had been let in on a secret that was hidden from everyone. If only he knew who Naruto was. There was nothing he could do with the information but he enjoyed having it anyway.

/ / / / / /

The amount of pride he felt was indescribable. His grin grew as Kakashi walked up to them. The copy-ninja shook his head, chuckling to himself as he dropped ungracefully onto the seat. When Asuma raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's amusement, the white haired man waved him off.

"I can't believe they are already sitting the chunin exams," Kurenai stated, her red eyes glinting. "Do you think any of them will pass? I wouldn't be surprised if Shino does. Kiba is strong but he can be a bit reckless and Hinata, well she's skilled but has little confidence. I just hope she does her best and starts to realize how much she has improved."

Asuma smiled at the young woman. "I'm sure they will all grow in these exams. Even if a person fails, they learn from their mistakes and improve. I know that two of my students, Ino and Choji don't have what it takes to be chunins, yet. They will one day, I'm just hoping they will learn what it takes from this. Also, I had to give them all a chance because I think Shikamaru could really get there… if he can be bothered." He sighed, knowing that once it hit the final examination that someone would have to give Shikamaru a hard push to get him motivated. Asuma toyed with the idea of threatening to tell Ino about Shikamaru's crush on Naruto but the jonin then realized that for all he knows Naruto could have been Shikamaru's family cat that he missed.

Kakashi hummed, drawing Asuma's attention. "I can't really say much about my students. One of them I think will not pass this time, another will definitely come close or will actually pass, and that's Sasuke and well… Naruto should never be overlooked. I learnt that one the hard way. Sometimes you just want to beat that knucklehead into the ground, and other times you find yourself going along with whatever popped into that kid's head. If I had to choose someone who's improved the most I would say Naruto and I never actually expected that." Kakashi rubbed his chin, looking at the ceiling before he gave an eye-smile, chuckling to himself. "That kid certainly does surprise me."

"So Naruto is on your team?" Asuma could have slapped himself when he saw Kakashi look at him. How was he going to get out of this one without the other male working out one of Asuma's students had a crush on Naruto. He couldn't divulge Shikamaru's secret, especially when said boy didn't know about Asuma's awareness.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"The name came up. Choji mentioned Naruto and something about a bridge…" Asuma trailed off. It wasn't a lie, he had overheard snippets of a conversation that had mentioned those two things he just hadn't understood a word of it.

"Yeah, I've heard the name too but haven't been able to put a face, or a sensei to them. So what's this about a bridge?" Kurenai looked between the two males, waiting for one of them to elaborate. Asuma looked at Kakashi, who sighed.

"It was the A rank mission that was originally a C rank and that Naruto had hounded the Hokage to give to us. Basically the village was so impressed with the team, and Naruto especially, that they named the bridge Uzumaki Bridge, after the knuckle head."

That was the second time Kakashi had called Naruto a knuckle head. Thinking back at the time he had seen Kakashi's team, he hadn't thought the girl was thickheaded. She did seem to be infatuated with Sasuke though.

_Poor Shikamaru, no wonder he was staring at the team. He was trying to work out how to get the girl to notice him over Sasuke._

He decided he would have to observe Shikamaru with Naruto so that Asuma could give him some pointers on how to get her to stop fawning over Sasuke. That was if he could convince the boy to actually bother to try instead of muttering 'what a drag' all the time and calling girls 'troublesome'. Sometimes the things that boy said could come off as sexist, but Asuma knew that he recognized and respected strong woman, he just wanted to avoid the ones like his own mother.

But Naruto must have been skilled if a town named a bridge after her. He had heard from his father about that mission, and how one of the boys had nearly died, another getting poisoned at the beginning of the mission as well, and Kakashi being taken out of commission for most of it. Just hearing about it had made Asuma feel as though he had swallowed a giant ice cube. If it had been his team he would have turned them around straight away but for some reason Kakashi didn't and it had turned out well in the end. Finding out Naruto 'hounded' his father though made him want to smile. She must have been stronger willed then she had appeared to him. If Asuma had to pick a person on Kakashi's team to hassle the Hokage into doing something it would probably have been the blond.


	3. What A Drag!

_**Thanks to my body keeping me awake for over 30 hours you have gotten an update quicker than I expected. Some of you have mentioned that you like that I don't write scenes from the show but this chapter, and the next will have a few, but they are brief and mainly look into what the person in the scene is thinking, so it's not a bore to read and is actually important to the character development. I warn you so that you don't stop reading the moment you come across it. Sorry if I'm rambling but 30 HOURS!**_

_**R and R.**_

It was already troublesome. Ino had wanted to get there early, before most of the other participants, so he had been dragged out of bed long before he would have liked to be. They had sat around in a room that was quickly filling with mean looking genins that were at least two years their senior. They knew going in that they were the rookies but Shikamaru had not realized that the others would be so much older than they were.

Ino didn't seem fazed by any of it and simply kept looking towards the every time it opened. Shikamaru sighed, realizing the only reason she had insisted they arrive so early was so she would be able to spend as much time as possible with Sasuke. As he grumbled at the thought of lost sleep because of Sasuke he waved off Choji, who was offering him chips. It was far too early for junk food. He stayed seated, resting his head on the table and wishing he could go to sleep.

A high pitched squeal broke the slumber he was drifting into. Sitting up with a yawn he saw that Ino had disappeared. He looked at Choji, raising an eyebrow. His friend nodded towards the entrance. With a sigh, Shikamaru stood up walking with Choji to find the third member of their team. The last thing they needed was for something to happen to her. As they drew closer to the doors Shikamaru stopped, observing the scene in front of them. Ino had found Sasuke, and was half hanging off the boy whose posture was tense as she argued with Sakura. Naruto though, was doing the unexpected. He had stepped back, taking himself out of the line of fire of the two girls arguing.

"Oh, it's you guys," Shikamaru stated, recovering from the scene and walking forward with his hands in his pockets. Naruto looked surprised. "I knew this was going to be a drag but I didn't know it was going to be this lame."

"So all three stooges are here," Naruto retorted.

Shikamaru felt something burn in his stomach as Naruto looked at him. "Hey, you know what, pipsqueak-? Ah, forget it, you're a waste of time."

Naruto scoffed at him, looking unhappy with him. Ino saved him having to think of something to say.

"So, Sasuke's all mine." She pulled the skin under her eye as she stuck her tongue out.

"Well, well, what do you know," Kiba laughed as he walked up to the others with his team in tow, Akamaru sitting on his head. "It looks like the whole gang is back together again."

"Oh, hi, Naruto," Hinata greeted breathlessly. When Naruto turned his eyes onto her she turned red, looking down.

Shikamaru felt an emptiness appear in his stomach, which was odd, since he had eaten breakfast. It wasn't a comfortable feeling either, the emptiness sitting heavily around his abdomen.

"You guys too, huh?" Shikamaru frowned, trying to keep the growl from his voice. "Man, everyone's here for this stupid thing."

"Yep," Kiba boasted, "here we all are. The nine rookies! Hahaha, this is gonna be fun. At least, for those of us good enough to make the cut." He looked at Sasuke, making his meaning obvious. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Kiba, be careful you don't get overly confident." Sasuke smirked as Ino started to get mad behind him.

"Just wait, we're going to blow you guys away." Kiba pulled his shoulders back. "We've been training like crazy."

"What do you think we've been doing?" Naruto snapped, frowning at the boy with a dog on his head. "Sitting around picking daisies?" He pointed at Kiba. "You don't know what training means!"

Shikamaru chose to not mention that he had seen Naruto's team having a picnic. Mainly since Choji had told him about his conversation with Naruto where the blond had gotten a bridge named after him. He didn't know how though. Besides, he had just started to feel better and the last thing he wanted was the troublesome experience of being yelled at by Naruto.

"Uh, don't mind Kiba," Hinata apologized, twirling her fingers. "I'm sure he didn't really mean anything by it."

The feeling was back! He was starting to think the Hyuaga girl was causing it, though how or why he wasn't sure. He simply looked away, noticing how Naruto frowned at Hinata before shaking his head. Perhaps she was causing the same feeling in the blond as she was in Shikamaru. He hadn't really interacted with Hinata and he didn't think that Naruto had either. There were a number of jutsus that can affect people's bodies but he didn't think that someone like Hinata could do something like that.

Whilst everyone was focusing on Choji and Shino, Shikamaru took the time to study Naruto, something he had been deprived of for months. He still looked the same, wearing bright clothing, keeping his eyes nearly closed, but he took longer to bite. He had let Shikamaru back down from an argument, he had let Kiba boast until Kiba insinuated that his team was weak. He had only snapped in defense of… _Sasuke!_ That was unexpected. Not only that, but the two hadn't even shared a bad look. On the contrary, they were calm around each other, both standing tall, neither ignoring nor acknowledging each other. It was unusual.

A boy named Kabuto broke him out of his evaluation of Naruto by pointing out that they had drawn attention to themselves. He honestly hadn't noticed all the people glaring at them but now that he did, he couldn't imagine how he had been oblivious. When Kabuto told them that he had tried and failed the Chunin exams seven times Shikamaru had been surprised. This guy must be an idiot. Naruto seemed to think the guy was a genius. Shikamaru nearly scoffed.

"Yeah, some expert, he's never passed!" Shikamaru pointed out at Naruto's excited words.

Kabuto at least looked embarrassed by the dark haired boy's words. "Well seventh time's the charm, that's what they say, huh?" He scratched the back of his head.

"So I guess all those rumours about the exam being hard are true. Oh man, I knew this was going to be a drag." Why did Asuma-sensei have to sign them up to this thing?

"Hang on, don't give up hope yet." Kabuto reached for something in his pouch, pulling out a deck of orange cards. "Maybe I can help you kids out a little with my ninja info cards."

"What the heck are those?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru thought it was pretty obvious by the name, though it did make him wonder what it would say on him. He listened to Kabuto's explanation, noting when he took a jab at Shikamaru, saying he hadn't '_completely_ been wasting his time'. Admittedly they were impressive. Shikamaru could already think of multiple practical uses of them, except for the fact that Kabuto seemed to state that only his chakra could reveal the information. The ninja would have to change that fact to allow a selection of people to access the information in it for it to be of actual use.

He hadn't realized the politics of the exam though. However, it rose the question again about why Asuma-sensei, and the other sensei's had let rookies in on it. Especially Naruto. That guy was a political catastrophe waiting to happen. He was liable to do something stupid like punch a ninja from another village all because they looked at him wrong.

"Oh, yeah, balance of power," Naruto agreed as though that made sense to him.

"Balance of power, big deal, it's all a drag." Shikamaru was starting to get really bored with the conversation but couldn't leave, his team was there after all.

"If the balance isn't maintained one nation could end up with many more shinobi than its neighbours and it might be tempted to attack them. So they try to maintain the status quo. Makes sense, I suppose."

"Hmm." Shikamaru thought over what he said, whilst also taking in how many ninjas were in the room. It seemed like the higher ups were actually hoping for most of them to fail. That was an encouraging thought.

When Sasuke started asking about the cards information on people Shikamaru tuned in noting that Kabuto admitted to having information on them. It would have been intriguing to know what he had on them. He was not going to ask to see it though. There were some missions he wasn't so proud of and knew what he would hear from Naruto. However, he was curious about that bridge.

He heard Naruto make a noise next to him, making him look over. The blond stood there, his arms closed, his eyes almost closed, hiding the blue to them, nodding his head. _He doesn't have a clue what's going on_. Shikamaru tried not to sigh. Naruto was still the same idiot, even if he didn't start arguments as easily. Truthfully, Shikamaru was hoping he would do something stupid just for some entertainment.

The people Sasuke asked about were interesting, especially Gaara from the Sand but Shikamaru had no idea how the other boy would know about Gaara or someone named Rock Lee. It was clear that the other villagers weren't pulling any punches whilst the Leaf… they had put them in.

_What a drag! We're never going to pass if this guy can't after seven tries._ Shikamaru sighed under his breath, his hands digging deeper into his pockets. There was no helping it. He just had to do his best and hope that he and his team didn't die in the process. Hokage help him, he was even worried about Ino.

/ / / / /

He wouldn't admit it but Naruto's words had helped him. He had been given a way out, one that ensured his team was safe. It had been tempting. All he had to do was raise his hand and say he was out, that it was too troublesome. Then Naruto had raised his hand, shocking Shikamaru. He never thought Naruto would quit. But then he opened his mouth! He had shouted how he would be Hokage even if he was a genin for the rest of his life. It was no secret that Naruto struggled with these types of exams. He could read now, but he still wasn't that skilled. The chances of him getting the answer wrong were high, and yet, he refused to back down. Naruto was going to go for his dream, even if he had to do it the hard way.

How could Shikamaru, who had no issue in answering the questions without cheating, back out from something he found so easy? It wouldn't be fair to Naruto, or to his team. He had to trust Choji and Ino to look after themselves, to be strong enough to handle themselves and if, in the next round, they were in danger, he would help them.

He stayed seated. No matter how much he tried to stare determinedly at the instructor, he still found his eyes going to Naruto. The blond sat straight, confident, ignoring the blushing girl gazing at him.

_She likes him!_ He realized, ignoring the hollow feeling to his chest. _Hinata likes Naruto!_

It had never occurred to him that there might be a girl out there who had a crush on Naruto. Why would they? He was loud, idiotic, admittedly funny, but rash as well. Shikamaru could never predict what stupid thing he was going to do next. Like when he shouted to the entire room his name and that he would beat them. Or when he yelled in the exam just moments ago! Though that wasn't stupid, that was brave. Shikamaru did have to acknowledge that Naruto was brave, but he wasn't very strong. He would probably lose a fight to a puppy.

He smirked at Naruto's back though. It was obvious how much he had affected those in the room. Naruto's words, and the feeling he created in that exam stayed with Shikamaru. He couldn't shake it, even when they entered the forest the next day. Truthfully his nerve might have been shaken if he didn't have it, sitting at the back of his mind.

When he had seen Sakura having to defend her team by herself he had frozen. He had made it seem like it was Ino's choice what they did but in truth he had every intention of jumping out. Both Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious, badly beaten. He didn't know what happened, but he knew it was bad. When Choji had tried to run he had grabbed his scarf, telling Choji that he couldn't leave a girl to fight. The words tasted like lemons in his mouth. Choji was strong but he was a cowered at times. Lucky for Shikamaru their enemy had said the F word. It was disappointing that two thirds of Team Seven were out cold. They would have been so jealous that they wouldn't have been able to move let alone throw scornful words at them.

Once the enemy had retreated it was Choji's and Shikamaru's job to wake up Naruto, the only one still unconscious. The dark haired boy had been fine with that… until Naruto started talking in his sleep. He was kicking and flailing the whole time.

"Sakura, I need to protect you," Naruto muttered. "Sakura!"

He stopped breathing for a minute before he had to repress the urge to growl. Anger was building in him, making him glare down at the form on the ground.

"Ts, this is embarrassing," he spat, noticing that Choji nodded, though he quirked an eyebrow. Shikamaru quickly found a plank of wood, which seemed out of place given how well shaped it was. Clasping it in both his hands, he aimed, making contact with Naruto's crown. He took satisfaction with the yelp that rang out.

Naruto blithered about danger and some woman with a snake, or a snake neck. He wasn't very clear. They chose to leave him oblivious about what had occurred, simply assuring him that his team mates were as safe as they looked. The look of relief that came over his face at those words caused mixed feelings in Shikamaru. Part of him wanted to hit Naruto with the plank of wood again, preferably harder this time, and another part wanted to tell him how his team had stepped in, that he would have stepped in even if Ino and Choji abandoned him. He felt his mouth opening though what was going to come out was beyond him. Before he could find out the hard way he closed his mouth with a sharp click.

He gave them a tilt to his head as his team left. As they walked away something reached his ears, something that dispelled the anger pooling in his abdomen.

"Sakura, are you alright? The last thing I remember is you being attacked. You and Sasuke are okay, aren't you?"

"Yes, Naruto, we are fine. The enemy retreated, thanks to you. They left just after you lost consciousness."

"I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry I left you by yourself. I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad Shikamaru and the others were here. Remind me to thank them for protecting my team."

"I will. I thanked them for protecting my team too."

A smile slid onto his face all negative feelings disappearing from within his chest. One line seemed to stick with him. No matter how much he tried he couldn't shake one particular line. _I'm glad Shikamaru and the others were here._ It replayed over and over, whenever his smile slipped it would resound, bringing it back in full force. It was after a good ten minute walk that he stopped, his eyes wide.

_Oh what a drag!_ He shouted in his mind, realizing that it wasn't Hinata causing him problems the day before, and he didn't have heart problems back in the academy. Just like minutes ago his emotions, and apparently the speed of his heart, were being effected by something else. That impulsive blond was the cause of all of this. When his team mates stopped and looked at him in worry he pushed it to the back of his mind, deciding to deal with it at a later date.

They had to focus on getting an earth scroll, which took them four days. The chunin that greeted them was one Shikamaru had seen in the first section of the exams. He had chin length brown hair and looked at them with amusement. Once he had congratulated them he let them into the rest of the tower, including their sleeping quarters where they could rest until the exams finished the next day. This unfortunately gave him time to think.

He couldn't work it out. What did this mean for him? What if he was wrong? Why did he still refer to Naruto as he instead of she? Was it only because he didn't know why Naruto hid _her_ gender and didn't want to be the one to reveal her secret? He couldn't work out what questions he was asking let alone the answers to said questions. Snapping out of his thoughts he noticing that he had his fingers positioned with his fingertips touching. He had been told it was a nervous habit. Choji was sitting next to him, not making a noise. For once he wasn't even munching on anything. Shikamaru looked at him, opening his mouth before closing it and looking away. He couldn't honestly say what was running through his mind. It would be mortifying.

Thinking it over, he finally opened his mouth, not looking at Choji next to him though. "I'm having an issue with a puzzle. Do you think you could help me?"

"I can do my best."

"When Ino said that Sakura looked like a boy, it sparked a question in my head. Sakura likes Sasuke, but imagine if Sakura actually looked like a boy, not just how Ino says she does. If the situation was reversed and Sasuke liked Sakura, who looked like a boy, would that make him gay, even if his 99% sure she's a girl? Would that 1% make him gay? Or is he still straight?" Shikamaru hoped his question was coherent and that he kept his uncertainty from his voice.

Choji was silent for a while before making a thoughtful noise and opening his mouth. "It depends on whether 99% of him knew Sakura was a girl, or believed it." At the confused look he received, he elaborated. "I am 99% certain that Brussels sprouts are healthy, but I don't believe something that nasty can be healthy, therefore, to me, they aren't. So if Sasuke, in your scenario, believes that Sakura is a girl, then he is attracted to female Sakura. If she turned out to be a he and Sasuke still found Sakura attractive, then he either can look past gender because it's not something that affects him, or he is attracted to boys."

Shikamaru mulled over what his friend had told him. He wanted to say he was 100% sure that Naruto was a girl but he knew that, logically, he couldn't say that, since he had no definitive proof. He believed without a doubt that Naruto was a girl. "Thank you, Choji, you helped me to solve my puzzle." He may not show it but he was glad to have Choji as his friend.

Nodding, Choji stood up, stretching his legs. "You know, even if Sasuke did like a male Sakura, my opinion of him wouldn't change. That's not something that can change the way I view a person."

For a moment he found himself in a state of surprise. There was no way Choji could mean what he thought he did. The way his friend only gave him a brief look out of the corner of his eye let him know that yes, he did. With a small smile, Shikamaru stood too. "That's good to know."

"Do you want to go to the mess hall? Or do you want to stay here and have me bring us something to eat here?"

"Nah, we can just go to the mess hall. It shouldn't be too troublesome." He walked with his friend out of the room feeling settled.

/ / / / /

They would go away. Naruto was weak, idiotic, rash, boisterous, rude and he didn't care for strategy at all. There was nothing appealing about him and eventually Shikamaru's feelings would wake up to themselves and realize that. It would save him the embarrassment of anyone finding out how much influence the blond had over him. He reminded himself of this fact again and again as they lined up in front of the Hokage in some sort of indoor fighting grounds. His anger at having to have a preliminary round helped to dispel any thoughts that his revolution had caused to sit in his mind.

When they were asked if anyone wanted to withdraw Naruto seemed especially shocked that Kabuto put up his hand, saying that he just didn't have the energy and was injured. No wonder he never passed. But Shikamaru found it odd. Why would someone come so close, try so hard and not want to try and see it to the end? If he felt as though he was going to die during the preliminary he could always forfeit. There was something wrong with that guy and Shikamaru was sure his feelings didn't stem from the fact that Naruto gave him attention. Something just didn't sit right but he had no way of working out what it was.

The rules were explained to them before the first two people were chosen. Surprise, surprise it was Sasuke, going up against a Leaf member from Kabuto's team. Shikamaru's team, along with everyone else, headed towards the stairs that would take them to the balcony above. Sakura and Naruto stayed behind to wish Sasuke luck and to greet Kakashi-sensei. Shikamaru's own sensei gave him an unusual smile when the three genins stopped in front of him. He just raised an eyebrow in return before feeling someone tap his shoulder.

Turning, he found Naruto standing there staring at him. With his blond hair falling around his forehead protector his blue eyes seemed brighter. Shikamaru put his hands into his pockets, looking down at Sasuke and his opponent.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to thank you and your team for helping us. With Sasuke and I unconscious there was no way those sound asses would be stopped. Without you… well, I don't really want to think about what would have happened. Anyway, thank you. You didn't have to help us but you did and I… I owe you one."

Shikamaru noticed Naruto scratch the back of his head before nodding to Choji and Ino. He looked back at the blond in front of him, not knowing what to say. "You don't owe me."

"Yes, I do!" He was taking it so seriously that Shikamaru was forced into silence. "You are annoying, and sleep most of the time, and are so lazy that you can't even be bothered to argue about anything you care about, or be passionate about anything," the dark haired boy bit his tongue, not trusting himself to speak, "but no matter what, I've got your back whenever you need me."

He knew his mouth was hanging open. He also knew that his team, bar Asuma-sensei, was also looking at Naruto with surprise. The blond had never sounded so sincere or grounded to Shikamaru. There went his heart again, making him feel like he was going to have a heart attack. _Troublesome_.

Naruto seemed to realize that they had no reply because he gave Shikamaru a soft smile, which did NOT cause any pink to appear on Shikamaru's face, before walking back to Sakura.

"Kick his ass, Sasuke!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Sasuke actually smirked at hearing the loud words.

"Do you have to be so obnoxious?" Sakura scoffed.

Naruto put his arm around Sakura's shoulders, pulling her close. "We have to cheer on our team mate. Aren't you proud to be in Team Kakashi?"

Sakura tried to frown but a smile broke out across her face. "Go Sasuke, show them how it's done!"

"Yeah!"

"Team Kakashi, huh?"

Asuma-sensei's words made him jump. Looking over his shoulder he saw his sensei studying the other team, paying close attention to the blond. "That boy certainly has heart. But I wonder why they don't call themselves Team Seven."

That wasn't important to Shikamaru. What he was wondering was why did Naruto have to make things harder for him? Shikamaru tried to pay full attention to the fight, he really did, but no matter what he found himself looking over at Team Kakashi at far too frequent intervals. He was trying to work out what Naruto was thinking, why he promised to help Shikamaru. He said it so naturally but seemed to also realize the weight of what he was saying. In many ways he had just promised to lay his life down for Shikamaru. Part of him wanted to tell Naruto that that wasn't necessary, or a safe promise… another part, that he didn't know existed, wanted to take Naruto's word and hold him to it. Though it was probably not in the sense that Naruto intended.

He gave a start when Naruto yelled. Once shooting him a look he leant against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Hey, Sasuke, you okay?" the boy was half hanging over the railing, grinning. "Hey, Sasuke, you won but in such an uncool way." The dark haired boy was sitting on his behind, with his legs out in front of him and his sensei standing behind him. "You came out looking like you were the one who got beat up. Hahaha."

"Idiot, give me a break! You little-" Sasuke retorted, panting, though not giving Naruto nearly as dark a look as Shikamaru expected. "All well." Sasuke shocked those who knew him from the academy by smiling at the blond, seeming to find his taunt amusing.

"Haha, I knew all the time that he would be okay," Ino gushed.

_This could be the end of the line for us,_ Shikamaru reasoned, noticing that the fight had actually been of high caliber and didn't last too long. He was good at a one on one fight… if he had time to plan it out. Unfortunately he didn't know who his opponent was or their abilities. Luckily they probably didn't know him either.

"Man, I'm hungry," Choji whined.

Admittedly Shikamaru found it funny that Kakashi-sensei seemed to treat Sasuke as a child. A disobedient one. He couldn't understand all of what they were saying but he did understand that Kakashi wouldn't take Sasuke arguing with him.

All the fights were fairly intense, making Shikamaru feel more and more disheartened. Naruto seemed to get more and more eager to have his turn. After the break they received to go to the bathroom and get something to eat, he noticed that Naruto had changed his attitude a little.

"Well, no matter who they pick it will be two weirdos cause this contest is choc-full of them!" He was frowning as he spoke and Shikamaru couldn't help but agree with him. The fights had all been unusual.

"Well, you're one to talk," Kakashi-sensei joked, his arms crossed.

"Yeah, good point," Sakura agreed.

"Hey, give me a break!"

Shikamaru tried not to laugh at the fact that Ino and Sakura were chosen. He heard Asuma-sensei gasp, though he didn't know why the man was so surprised. He knew that his students would have to be chosen eventually. Or maybe it was that he had heard about Sakura from Ino, about how they had been friends for so long, only to become rivals over Sasuke. Looking at him Shikamaru saw Asuma-sensei watching Sakura and Ino walk down the stairs, glaring at each other. His dark eyes trailed over the last member of Team Kakashi before making eye contact with Shikamaru.

"That's Sakura?" Asuma-sensei asked in an astounded voice.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed with a shrug, his hands going to his pockets.

His eyes slid back to the blond. "And who is that?" He looked at Shikamaru, only to look back at the blond, then Shikamaru again.

"Uzumaki, Naruto." The shocked look on his sensei's face made no sense to him. Why would a person's name cause such an expression? He didn't even know what emotions were flickering over his features. His eyes were wide, his smoke staying in his gaping mouth thanks to the dry saliva on his lip. Once again his eyes flickered from Shikamaru to Naruto, seeming to study the boy before he noticed he was staring. He closed his mouth and gave his head a slight shake, crossing his arms. Looking hard at the girls on the ground below, he acted as though nothing happened.

Following his example Shikamaru looked down at the arena. "For all the people for Ino to go up against it would have to be Sakura. What a mess!

"I know, I hope Ino will be okay," Choji muttered into his arms that were resting on the railing.

"GO, SAKURA! YOU CAN DO IT!" Naruto screamed, cupping his hands to get extra volume. "DON'T LOSE!"

The fight started and their moves seemed odd. They were holding back. Naruto didn't notice and became infuriated when Shikamaru called him a fool. He could really be an idiot and Shikamaru enjoyed reminding himself that he could beat Naruto in a verbal fight without effort. He could also beat him in a physical one too.

The fight eventually escalated into a real fight, surprising them all. Unsurprisingly, the fight ended in a draw, both girls loosing. Even though, the two girls certainly looked fine with the outcome, even happy to some extent. He was curious as to what happened to Ino's jutsu. That had never happened before. Ino had yelled something about two spirits, which was something Shikamaru had never heard about. He tried to ignore the fact that Sakura seemed to be able to do such at Naruto's words.

The more Naruto had to wait the louder he got. Shikamaru filled his time with analyzing the fights, which seemed to confuse Naruto when he spoke out loud about his observations.

_The guy is such an idiot. His fight will probably be over within a minute._

During his fight he could hear Naruto commenting, and not in a positive light. It pissed him off more than it should have, and he might have started showing off just a little. Not that Naruto noticed.

"Even a good for nothing lazy bum gets to win his match! When will I get my turn," Naruto whined as Shikamaru walked back up to the balcony.

He tried not to sigh as he held back a flinch. It would be so much easier if he didn't care what the blond thought, but he just couldn't seem to reach that point. It was simpler when he didn't know how he felt about Naruto. If he could go back to before that troublesome moment he would do it without a second thought.

Naruto started cheering, having been selected to fight against Kiba. Kiba sounded just as thrilled. Shikamaru didn't know why Naruto was so happy though. He really was going to be defeated by a puppy! He thought he was proven right when Naruto was knocked to the ground by an elbow to the gut from Kiba.

"Thought as much." He smirked, happy that he won his match and Naruto was taken out in seconds.

"I thought Kiba would be too much for him but that was fast," Ino admitted.

He noticed that Sakura and Kakashi-sensei shared a look before Sakura gave a smile that seemed as though she knew the answers to some converted secrets. Then Naruto got to his feet.

"Don't ever! Don't ever underestimate _me_!"

He couldn't help but smile. _Huh, the kid's came a long way_. Shikamaru could tell now that Naruto had taken the hit on purpose.

The blond admitted he wanted to judge Kiba's strength and taunted him, saying Akamaru would be a better fight. That's when he really was beaten by a puppy. Naruto was left in a heap on the ground when the smoke disappeared, Akamaru prancing back to Kiba smugly.

_Who would have thought a dog could look cocky!_

Only, it wasn't Akamaru, it was Naruto, disguised as the white dog.

_I can't believe he bit Kiba, but how did he manage a transformation jutsu, he sucked at them. Wait! That shadow clone, it's holding Akamaru, which means it's not the type we learnt at the academy. They are only for distractions. His is solid, like Asuma-sensei's. How did he do that?_

"Wow," Ino started, sounding a mix between shocked and impressed. "Is that really Naruto? Who would have thought that Naruto would be a match for Kiba?"

"To balance a transformation jutsu and a clone jutsu at the same time, there is no way he should be able to do that!" He had no idea how Naruto had managed to learn that in the half a dozen months after four years of failure in the academy. "I don't know what happened but this isn't the same Naruto we used to know."

He didn't know how that sat with him. Now he couldn't tell who would win the fight, and admittedly he was intrigued. Part of him… missed the old Naruto, partly because it was so easy to convince himself that there was nothing to like about the blond. The new Naruto… he had potential, and Shikamaru found himself studying him closely.

There were many times when everyone, Shikamaru especially, thought that Kiba had Naruto beat. Naruto's battle was definitely the most intense so far. But then Naruto had done something that no one saw coming. A double transformation. From Kiba to Akamaru, confusing Kiba.

_Brillant!_ That was the only word Shikamaru could think to call it. He greedily evaluated Naruto, trying to work out how he had come up with that move. The dark haired boy wouldn't have thought of it, no matter how much time he had. Naruto had come up with it in seconds, whilst being beaten down by two spinning beasts with high chakra levels. He had studied his opponent, thinking of a way to create an opening, since he knew Kiba wouldn't give him one. He had succeeded in removing one of his enemies without having to even land a hit. Even Naruto's team mate had looked surprised.

"A smart shinobi is careful about how he uses his jutsu so it doesn't come back to bite him in the butt, dummy," Naruto pointed out, grinning and giving Kiba the thumbs down.

He still hadn't thought Naruto could beat Kiba, yet he had, though how he eliminated Kiba's nose was… odd. His 'super secret, killer move' was actually impressive. Shikamaru didn't even know how to create one solid clone, let alone _four_. He wasn't so sure anymore if he could beat Naruto in a physical fight. At least he still had the verbal edge.

"Unbelievable! Who would have thought he would beat Kiba." Shikamaru couldn't help the smile that broke out. It was so impressive that he didn't even know where to start. _He always was interesting to study_.


	4. The Blond Is

Even though he should have been paying attention to his father, or his team, he couldn't help but study Naruto. The girl had some strength to her, having made it through the second phase of the Chunin exams but she was also easily forced into submission by Sasuke. He knew what their conversation was about. He had heard everything about the curse mark and Orochimaru sneaking into the exams. At least Naruto seemed to care about her team mates, even the blond.

The blond seemed energetic and admittedly Asuma had ridden him off as an idiot, until he had talked to Shikamaru. He had thanked Shikamaru for saving his team. It was a confusing interaction. At first Shikamaru appeared reluctant to look at the blond and as though he wanted the conversation over with. But then it changed. The blond promised to help Shikamaru, saying that he owed him one. Shikamaru had looked at the blond in surprise, a number of emotions flickering across his face as he told the blond he didn'y have too.

"Yes, I do! You are annoying, and sleep most of the time, and are so lazy that you can't even be bothered to argue about anything you care about, or be passionate about anything but no matter what, I've got your back whenever you need me."

Asuma agreed with the boy's last comment. Shikamaru really needed to be passionate about something. As the blond spoke Shikamaru had looked as though he wanted to contradict him, and by the end of it his mouth was hanging open. The rest of Team Nine had looked surprised at the blond's words as well, though Asuma didn't see why they should be. Kakashi's student didn't seem effected by their expressions and instead gave Shikamaru a small smile before walking back to Naruto. Asuma was startled when he looked back at Shikamaru. The dark haired boy was blushing!

_Maybe it was thinking about saving Naruto_, Asuma thought as Naruto and her team mate cheered on Sasuke. _I'll have to learn that blond's name._ He turned back to his team just before the fight started.

As Shikamaru stood next to him, leaning against the wall, Asuma alternated between watching the fight and watching Naruto and her teammate. The two were watching Sasuke intensely. However, Naruto looked enraptured whilst the blond looked as though he was studying the fight closely. Asuma honestly wasn't sure how to move Naruto's feelings from Sasuke to Shikamaru, and the lazy boy wasn't helping. He hadn't said a word to the pink haired girl, though Asuma did notice that he looked over at Kakashi's team often, blushing again at one point. When the blond yelled at Sasuke, goading him to keep fighting, Shikamaru looked over sharply. He had looked over with surprise before glaring at Sasuke. He seemed to descend back into his own thoughts after a few minutes, or perhaps never truly surfaced.

It was when Sasuke's fight ended that Shikamaru broke from his thoughts. He looked over at the two teammates as the blond spoke quietly to Naruto. The glare was back, though it was starting to seem as though it was an involuntary reaction.

_Looks like Shikamaru is the jealous type. Though I don't think Naruto has any romantic feelings for her blond teammate, just Sasuke._

The fights went on and Asuma noticed that Naruto wasn't as dumb as he expected after Kakashi's knucklehead comment. She actually seemed knowledgeable, explaining why the use of puppets was allowed in a one-on-one fight to her teammate and occasionally making general comments about the fights. She didn't seem like a knucklehead at all. The blond certainly did though.

Shikamaru had came out of his stoic silence long enough to throw some snide or harsh remarks at the boy but he went silent again when they were given a ten minute break. Choji walked over to the blond, striking up a conversation about ramen, which the other ninja seemed to enjoy. Just as the last person stepped back into the room, though, the next match was chosen.

Choji had returned to his team by this point and the three males watched as the name of the final member of their team appeared. Ino was to verse her old rival Sakura. He had heard plenty about her from Ino but he didn't think that she had made it to the Chunin exams. He really should have payed attention when the other jonins were signing their students up but Kurenai's dress was tight. He looked over to the stairs where Ino was, watching her glare at Naruto as they walked down to the arena.

He gasped. There was no way Kakashi would let someone fight when they weren't supposed to, at least not in this situation. But that would mean... His eyes drifted over to the blond left standing next to Kakashi before he slowly pulled his gaze to meet Shikamaru's. The boy was looking at him in confusion. Asuma had no doubt he had a similar expression, though his was probably more intense.

"That's Sakura?" Asuma asked in an astounded voice. The information was trickling into his mind.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed with a shrug, his hands going to his pockets.

His eyes slid back to the blond. "And who is that?" He looked at Shikamaru, only to look back at the blond, then Shikamaru again.

"Uzumaki, Naruto."

Part of him knew that when the pink haired girl walked down to fight Ino, but he had still had his doubts. His eyes widened; his jaw dropping. His cigarette only stayed in his mouth because of dry saliva gluing it to his lip. He looked from Shikamaru to the blond, _Naruto_, thinking over what he had observed between the two. The blond was a knucklehead, like Kakashi had said, and Shikamaru had seemed to like taunting him… drawing his attention. And the blush. The blush! Of course it now made sense. Naruto had been the one thanking him, and promising to fight for Shikamaru. Shikamaru had been blushing at the one in front of him, the one smiling at him. He had also glared at Sasuke when Naruto had yelled out to him, and Sakura when Naruto was talking to her.

_Wait! Naruto's a boy…_ Asuma scanned the blond with his eyes. _Yes, definitely a boy. Shikamaru is already sure of his sexuality… does that normally happen so young? I have no clue. Well, the kid did have fire to him. He was strong, kind of like Shikamaru's mother, and wouldn't let the lazy kid get away with slacking off… well maybe he would, it's hard to tell. But he's not very smart._

When the blond shot a look over his shoulder Asuma realized he was staring. He closed his mouth and gave his head a slight shake, crossing his arms. Looking hard at the girls on the ground below, he acted as though nothing had transpired. The last thing he wanted was for Shikamaru to get the wrong idea and think his sensei had a problem with Naruto.

Shikamaru rested his arm on the railing. "For all the people for Ino to go up against it would have to be Sakura. What a mess!"

"I know, I hope Ino will be okay," Choji muttered into his arms that were resting on the railing.

"GO, SAKURA! YOU CAN DO IT!" Naruto screamed, cupping his hands to get extra volume. "DON'T LOSE!"

_He's awfully loud._ Asuma put Naruto out of his mind, focusing all his attention on his student. He was impressed with the fight, even though it ended in a draw. Ino had certainly improved in the time that she was in the Forest of Death.

He noticed during Tenten and the Sand genin's fight that when Shikamaru spoke disheartened about the fight that Naruto was the first to respond, spurring a little argument between them. He did notice how Shikamaru scoffed when Sakura assured Naruto that he could take the Sand ninjas. Asuma couldn't help but notice the smirk he gave Naruto when Shikamaru's name was selected instead of the blond's.

When Shikamaru gave a noise of pain and covered his ears Naruto looked concerned, gripping the railing a little tighter. "Is he going to be okay? What's happening to him?"

"My guess is that the bells are affecting his senses. They are putting him off balance and perhaps making him see double or even triple. It is similar to a genjutsu," Kakashi explained calmly.

"Like the other guy from the Sound, when he attacked Kabuto. He didn't touch him but Kabuto still threw up." Naruto pulled a disgusted look. "Is Shikamaru going to throw up? That'll be embarrassing."

"He'll be fine," Asuma assured, watching Shikamaru. No doubt that the boy had already thought of something. He just wondered if the little genius had heard Naruto's words. It would be a shame if he didn't.

When Shikamaru completed his fight Naruto looked impressed, but that was short lived. He instantly started complain that he hadn't had his turn, going so far as to insult Shikamaru.

"Even a good for nothing lazy bum gets to win his match! When will I get my turn?"

Shikamaru was walking up onto the balcony and even from a distance Asuma could see him flinch at Naruto's words. He looked down, watching his feet as he walked up to his team. It was only when Naruto started to cheer that he looked up.

Naruto's fight against Kiba had certainly been interesting. It was obvious that everyone except for Naruto's teammates thought that Kiba was going to win. At first Asuma thought that Kakashi was being arrogant, thinking that Naruto had a chance, but then he noticed it. He noticed that Naruto was unpredictable. It was his biggest advantage. Kakashi had mentioned that you couldn't count Naruto out and Asuma was starting to understand why.

Although Asuma found the fight incredible to watch, he was also fascinated with watching Shikamaru's reactions. He had not looked away from the fight from the moment it started and had voiced his opinions a number of times. Shikamaru clearly thought Kiba would win without too much of a challenge but he had been wrong. Asuma was fairly certain, thinking back, that Shikamaru had been able to predict the outcome of every battle so far after the first two moves.

_Perhaps that is Naruto's appeal. He can keep Shikamaru on his toes._

Truthfully he was beginning to wonder how no one else had noticed Shikamaru's infatuation. When Naruto performed a double transformation, surprising everyone, Shikamaru's face had filled with fascination and something akin to longing, though it had an odd spark to it. Asuma easily recognised it as the spark that appeared when Shikamaru came across a piece of information that he wanted to devour and claim for his own purposes.

"Brilliant!" Shikamaru whispered, his eyes roaming over Naruto, studying the situation and Naruto's strategy.

_Well that can't be good for Naruto._ Asuma bit back his chuckle, wondering if Shikamaru was scheming to himself.

Now that he knew the true identity of Naruto he was beginning to wonder how he could have thought it was Sakura. He was starting to think Shikamaru might also be aware of his feelings, if the little things Asuma was picking up on were anything to go on. When the preliminary exams were over Asuma took his team out for barbeque, as he had promised Choji. Kakashi's team had run ahead, out the doors, making Kakashi sigh, though he made no move to keep up with them. The two spoke of ramen.

His three students looked exhausted but happy to be getting a meal. It was clear that he would have to create a training schedule for Shikamaru otherwise the boy would sit around doing nothing for a month. Luckily, he knew something that should be able to motivate the boy, he just had to put it into practice without the boy realising.

They sat down in a booth and they ordered meat for them to barbeque. Once the meat started sizzling Asuma turned to his three students. "I am very proud of all of you for how you handled the exams."

"But Choji and I lost our fights," Ino muttered, looking down at her plate.

"That doesn't matter. You both fought well and that is what matters. You can learn from how you went. Not only that, but there were many people older than you who did not even reach the second exam, or the preliminary exam. You should be proud." He smiled at them before putting some meat onto his plate to eat. It was perfectly cooked, since Choji was the one who looked after it.

"Thanks, Asuma-sensei," Choji said before digging into his meal.

"It's troublesome that I still have to fight. On top of that I have to fight an extra battle. What a drag." Shikamaru rested his chin on his palm, sighing heavily.

"Hmm, that's true but at least you will have more opportunity to impress those who will determine if you become a Chunin. Though, you might have to be careful. I notice that one kid was studying the fights closely. He was even asked a question when he didn't understand someone's fighting technique. What was his name..." Asuma pretended to think, making sure he worded the rest of his speech correctly, "oh, Naruto from Kakashi's team. He was watching your fight very closely, Shikamaru. He was a little worried about you too. And he's an unpredictable one so he might cause you problems."

He hid his grin behind his napkin, pretending to wipe his mouth. Shikamaru's face was amusing. He tried to look uncaring, or bored, but the corner of his mouth twitched and his eyes looked awake, something they weren't moments before. Choji stopped devouring food long enough to shoot his friend a smile that went unnoticed by the dark haired boy. It had worked. There was something there, in Shikamaru's expression that showed determination. Asuma wondered if he would be able to play the Naruto card for a month or if it would wear off. Perhaps he would have to invite Naruto to one of their meals.

"Doesn't matter. If I end up fighting him I'll beat him. Besides, he might not get passed Neji. Defeating Kiba is one thing but Neji was the top of his class and Naruto is an idiot." Shikamaru scoffed, putting a piece of food into his mouth and chewing slowly.

Ino looked away from giving Choji a disgusted look long enough to contribute to the conversation. "Naruto was actually impressive. I never thought I would say that but Naruto's fighting techniques were smart. I would have fallen for it too."

"Yeah, I have to admit, I have no clue how he came up with that plan. I would have put money on Kiba winning but Naruto has really improved." Shikamaru gave a small smile. "Wish I knew about that damn bridge though."

Asuma laughed. "Oh, I got Kakashi to tell me the story so I'll tell you if you train."

"Man, what a drag. I could just ask Naruto."

"You could, but he will probably be training too." Asuma helped Choji put more meat onto the barbeque as something Kakashi had said to him came to mind. "You should be careful if you fight against Naruto. Apparently he has a large amount of chakra. Kakashi said that he was teaching the three of them a technique. Sasuke and Naruto trained for days straight but apparently Naruto trained at night too. I think Kakashi said he tallied it at three days and night. He said that the kid doesn't stop for anything. Kakashi isn't one to exaggerate so just watch yourself. When he says Naruto's chakra levels might be higher than his own, you know it's true. We are going to have to get your stamina up so that you can withstand multiple fights but if Naruto really does have that much chakra I think you're going to have some trouble if you go up against him."

The three genins looked speechless, their mouths hanging open, eyes wide. Asuma could see some half chewed barbeque sitting on one of Ino's back molars. Surprisingly it was Choji, who looked the most shocked, who recovered first.

"How is it possible for a genin to have so much chakra reserves?" Choji squeaked.

"Come to think of it, Kiba took a food pill to heighten his chakra, but Naruto kept up with him and still had energy afterwards. Ino, you and Sakura passed out after your fight and I don't think you two used as much chakra as Naruto. He pulled off multiple jutsus, including one of jonin level, and was still standing. He didn't even look that exhausted. After about two minutes his breathing had levelled back out." Shikamaru ignored the look that Ino shot him, clearly questioning how he had noticed so much.

Asuma chose not to mention anything about how much Shikamaru had observed. He did notice that Choji had a small smile on his face as he grabbed some meat off of the barbeque. Honestly, he didn't know why that boy smiled at meat but then again his whole family were big eaters.

"You'll have to use your brain against him since I doubt you will be able to build enough stamina to keep up with Naruto in just a month."

He didn't know why his words caused Shikamaru to blush but he was amused and proud of himself nonetheless.

_**So, you get to see an in-depth of Asuma's reaction. I was surprised about how many reviews I got about Asuma finding out Naruto was a boy. I couldn't help but laugh evilly at the fact that you wouldn't get to see his full reaction until chapter 4. Next chapter will be full of Naruto/Shikamaru goodness, promise. **_

_**R and R.**_


	5. Stamina

Laps! That was one of the ways Asuma-Sensei planned to enhance his stamina. With laps! He hated this training. Truthfully he didn't really care if he made Chunin. It wasn't like the rest of his team would be joining him at the new rank. And even if he participated in the last section of the exams, it didn't mean he would be made Chunin. He could fight the extra fight, defeat all the opponents put in front of him, and still not make Chunin. What a drag!

To make matters worse Asuma-Sensei had gained Choji's help by offering to buy them barbeque after training, every day. If there was one way to get that guy to do what you want it was food. Unfortunately for Shikamaru, this resulted in his best friend pelting towards him in human bolder form, as Shikamaru kept doing his laps. He had to dodge or leap over Choji before continuing. Admittedly he couldn't be mad at his friend though. Choji apologised whenever he actually managed to hit him and he actually looked happy to be helping Shikamaru. Even though he had needed incentive to help train he did want his friend to succeed.

That was one of the few things that made Shikamaru continue with the training that his teacher was putting him through. His friends had wanted to make Chunin, something he had the opportunity to do whilst they had been knocked out of the running. He could grumble about it for days, but it would be unfair if he didn't at least try to become better for the final exam.

At least he got barbeque each day to replenish his chakra levels. The bruising wasn't so easy to deal with. On top of that his sensei had started an unusual habit. Whenever Shikamaru started to look disheartened or started to complain he would start talking about the other combatants. He would talk about the different skills they had already witnessed, making sure to mention Naruto's unpredictability, his stamina, and the fact that everyone seemed to underestimate him. He honestly didn't know why Asuma-Sensei liked bringing up the blond but he certainly did it a lot, and for some reason Choji liked to join in with the conversation. The only good thing was that Shikamaru was learning quickly to control his blush. It had been two days since training started!

Two days and he was already regretting making it into the finals. Hell, he was even starting to regret becoming a ninja. He rubbed the back of his neck, loosening the muscles, releasing a groan of pleasure at the relaxation it caused. With that simple action he felt tension leave him, making it easier for him to drown out the babbling of the two males beside him. He respected both of them but they had already gotten on his nerves. If he hadn't been focused so heavily on kneading out his muscles he may have heard his friend's warning earlier, or have noticed the yellow and orange blur that barrelled into him.

The blur smashed against him hard, knocking the wind out of him and possibly bruising a rib or two. There was no doubt in his mind that his surprised expression was the furthest from cool. He flailed slightly as he fell backwards, one hand grabbing the small shoulder of the person tumbling with him as the other went to brace his fall. The sickening rush of air was stopped the stomach lunging feel of the ground against his back. Something pressed heavily against his chest, making his breath come short and difficult. It was warm though. And smelt nice, really nice. It was soft too, and damp. That last one was a little weird. He hadn't noticed until his hand had gone around the form, releasing their shoulder.

"Sorry," it said in a voice that did not sound apologetic at all.

_I know that voice_, he thought as he groaned, the pain catching up to him. It was Naruto... and he was beginning to move! If Shikamaru had to guess, he would say that Naruto was trying to find his feet, to get up. He was doing a very poor job of it and it was beginning to cause some problems. His dark eyes sprang open as he fully comprehended the tension in his abdomen. Within seconds he threw Naruto off of him with a ferrel snarl he didn't know he was capable of. He sat up, glaring at Naruto.

The blond half laid, half sat before him on the ground, propped up by his hands. He looked confused but far from scared. If anything he looked a little annoyed. "I said sorry," he muttered. He rose to his feet, banging his hands on his pants to dust them off.

Shikamaru quickly rose to his feet too, noticing that Choji was looking at him in concern. He dusted himself much less violently than Naruto before addressing the blond. His sensei looked far to amused to speak, which only annoyed the young genius even more. "Naruto, what are you doing and why weren't you watching where you were going?"

"I'm looking for the man who knocked out the closet pervert. I want him to train me. Have you seen him?" Naruto rambled, seeming to vibrate out of his skin.

Shikamaru grabbed his shoulders to try and stop him from bouncing as he slowly processed the words that had been hurled at him. He heard Asuma-Sensei mutter 'closet pervert' to himself in confusion. He clearly wasn't used to Naruto coming up with unusual names for those around him. "Naruto, how would we know if we've seen him? We don't know what he looks like."

"Oh, right!" Naruto scratched his head. "Well he has really long, white hair, a toad, and oil on his head. Have you seen him?"

Shikamaru looked at Choji, raising an eyebrow. He honestly wondered at times if Naruto was unhinged. When the three members of Team Ten shook their heads Naruto looked disappointed. The look was quickly replaced with a large grin.

"Then I'll just flood the village!"

"Flood the village with what?" Shikamaru asked, slowly dropping his hands from Naruto's shoulders and putting them into his pockets.

"With me." Naruto brought his hands together before multiple shadow clones appeared.

There were more than Shikamaru could count, though he suspected that they reached close to a hundred. They quickly started fanning out down the streets and over the roof tops, looking for the mysterious man. Naruto looked unaffected, still grinning.

"If the pervert thinks he can knock out my sensei and not have to train me in his place than he clearly doesn't know Naruto Uzamaki!" Naruto ran off to join the search, leaving the stunned group behind.

"He really does have a ridiculous amount of chakra," Choji uttered in awe, looking at the clouds of Narutos off in the distance. "He could beat me with sheer numbers alone!"

He was too shocked to say anything. He had seen how much Naruto had improved in his fight against Kiba but there were no words for that. It was bad enough having one Naruto terrorizing the village, how were they meant to handle that many?

Asuma-Sensei recovered first, breaking Choji and Shikamaru out of their paralyzed states. He led them to the barbeque house, still looking highly amused, much to Shikamaru's confusion and annoyance. He just focused on blocking out parts of that moment from his memory; otherwise his success with not blushing would be lost forever.

"A man with a toad," Asuma-Sensei muttered to himself. "It couldn't be the man I'm thinking of."

"Have you seen the man Naruto is looking for?" Choji asked, looking up at his teacher.

The older man shook his head. "No, not seen, but I have heard of a man who fits that description."

"Even the oil on his head?" Shikamaru chuckled.

"Sort of. He has a head protected with the word 'oil'. If it is who I think it is, then you might have a problem, Shikamaru. He's a powerful man. Let's hope I'm wrong." Asuma-Sensei slid into their usual booth, smiling in a way that made Shikamaru feel uncomfortable. "Naruto really needs to watch where his going though. I hope you didn't get hurt when Naruto landed on top of you."

So much for being able to control his blush!

/ / / / / / /

Choji was training with his father, leaving Shikamaru and Asuma-Sensei to train just the two of them. Instead of exhausting the genin with exercises, Asuma-Sensei had decided to drill Shikamaru on strategy. As the two walked around the river Shikamaru was to indicate each opponents fighting style, any weaknesses and strengths he had observed, and how best to defeat them. This was something he didn't mind, especially because he knew for certain that this would be helpful for him during the match. After the first two matches he had no clue who he would be versing, so he was to think of strategies for everyone. After just over a week of laps and other stamina increasing activities this was enjoyable.

"Your first opponent is the man from the Sound village. You saw him go up against Choji. He has that devise on his arm that creates sound waves that affect the human body." Asuma-Sensei put a cigarette in his lips, not lighting it, knowing Shikamaru would complain.

"Yeah, I've actually seen him fight a couple of times. He made this guy puke without touching him. I actually went up against him in the second exam too." Shikamaru thought over what happen to Kabuto, and what he witnessed fighting him in the forest. "I'm guessing the devise has the ability to affect the inner ear, it might also be able to affect blood vessels and stuff if it hits the right frequency. However, the guy is violent, almost twisted, and doesn't like losing. He's lost to me so it won't be hard to make him loose his focus thanks to anger. His attack style also seems close to mid range, which works to my advantage since that is also my range. Obviously everyone knows my jutsu now but as the day does on the arena will be more and more in my favour, so keeping a distance from me isn't going to help them much at all."

Asuma-Sensei nodded his head. "Very good. What about you're other main opponent, the girl from the Sand?"

Shikamaru thought for a moment. He didn't have as much information on her but her fight with Tenten had been rather telling. "She's smart, calculating. Her jutsu could cause a problem for me. But she's cocky. I can use that to my advantage. She's more likely to leave an opening, because she thinks she's the smartest person in the room. I just have to find it, and use it."

"Should I worry about you having the same problem as her?" Asuma-Sensei seemed to half joke.

"No, the moment I think I'm the smartest person is the moment I die, or someone I care about dies."

"Alright, next, what about Neji Hyguya?"

"He's an entirely close range attacker. His style works well for me. Bad for Naruto though, who seems like he's also a close range attacker. As long as he's not using shadow clones he will also fall into my jutsu. Sasuke may cause me a problem, since I know from the academy days how skilled he is. He has a range of attacks and is skilled with weapons. I won't be able to fully make a strategy until fighting him. No matter who wins out of Sasuke and that Gaara guy they should have less chakra, so hopefully that'll help me. Seeing Gaara go up against Lee I have no doubt that the fight will be intense so that should affect their chakra."

"You're right," Asuma-Sensei commented. "But… Naruto?"

"I already did Naruto." Shikamaru frowned up at his sensei, only to notice that the man was staring ahead. Turning his gaze forward he found himself choking on his own saliva, his eyes bulging out of his head. "What the hell?!"

"Oh, hey Shikamaru, Asuma-sensei, how's it going?" Naruto grinned at them, seeming to not care that he was standing before them in nothing but a black shirt and green boxer shorts. "Have you seen my pants?"

Shikamaru splattered at that, his eyes roaming over Naruto's body, pausing on his shirt, which stuck to his… oddly shaped chest before quickly being averted to look for the piece of clothing. He spotted them on a tree branch. "Over there… how did they get up so high?"

Naruto shrugged as though it wasn't so unusual to have one's pants hanging from a tree branch. He walked up to the tree, reaching up as far as he could, but with little success. His fingertips just skimmed the fabric. With a huff, Naruto lowered himself back onto the flat of his feet before turning to Shikamaru. "Could you help? I'm out of chakra and… I'm too short." He finished in an annoyed mutter, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sighing, and uttering the words 'troublesome', he walked over to Naruto, pulling at the fabric and having it tumble from the tree, onto his head. This would be fine if something hard in Naruto's pocket hadn't hit him on the head.

"Ow, what the hell hit me?"

Naruto took his pants off of Shikamaru's head as the dark haired boy pressed his hand to a growing bruise, checking for blood.

"This!" From his pocket he removed Gama-chan, the wallet that Shikamaru had bought him years ago. "Sorry, should have warned you that Gama-chan was there."

Shikamaru grunted as Naruto pulled the pants on. He found himself studying Naruto's form again, avoiding his legs until they were covered. _He must be as flat-chested as Sakura_. There was something there, some… cushion, but it wasn't exactly feminine. It was oddly lumpy, but not masculine either. Realizing he was staring he quickly looked to the ground, moving back over to his teacher.

"What brings you here, Naruto, with your pants off?" Asuma-Sensei asked with a chuckle, smiling around his unlit smoke.

"Training on the river. That's why I didn't have my pants on. I didn't have a shirt too, but when I put it on it ended up wet anyway." Naruto sighed, pulling the fabric off his chest where it was clinging.

"Did you find the man you were looking for?" Shikamaru had to remind himself to look at Naruto's face.

"Yeah, I had to use my sexy jutsu to con him into training me. He's currently over there, through the bushes doing 'research'."

"Sexy jutsu?"

"Don't ask, Asuma-Sensei. What is he researching?" Shikamaru was curious. If it was the man Asuma-Sensei thought than he might have been making a powerful technique that he would teach Naruto. That would cause him problems.

"He's researching for his book, which means staring at women in bikinis." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Stupid Pervy-Sage."

"Oi, don't start bad mouthing my research, kid!"

Shikamaru jumped when he noticed the large, white haired man crouching in the bushes not too far from them. He had a notebook open, a pen poised to write. The grin on his face made Shikamaru's skin crawl. He was looking between the dark haired boy and Naruto eagerly. Shikamaru looked over at the blond for answers but only saw Naruto frowning at his new sensei.

"Pervy-Sage, what are you doing?"

"Research." He wrote something down, his eyes gleaming as he looked at Shikamaru again, seeming to study him."I'm the author of the Icha-Icha books."

"But the girls are over there." Naruto pointed in the direction that 'Pervy-Sage's' back was facing.

"Oh I don't just watch bikini women for research. Though it is more entertaining than watching two prepubescent ninjas, but you are proving to be useful material."

Naruto looked confused but Shikamaru understood what he was getting at. He didn't know much about the books but he had seen billboards about them. They were some kind of romance. Was he really that obvious, or was it more the awkwardness of the situation that was inspiring the man before him.

He was a very big man. Even crouching he was close to Shikamaru's height. He was also intimidating. There wasn't anything in particular that made Shikamaru want to back away, just something about the man. He seemed friendly enough, even a bit flaky, but there was a look in his eyes, something about how he held himself, and something about the way he was toying with Shikamaru that made him know that the man could more than handle himself.

Asuma-Sensei cleared his throat; that damn amused expression back. This time it was also mixed with awe. "You're Jiraiya the Sannin, aren't you? I'm Asuma Sarutobi."

Jiraiya looked confused for a moment before grinning and standing up. Yep, he was tall, really tall. He was close to half a meter taller than Shikamaru.

"Yes, yes I am. It is nice to have someone actually call me by my name." He shot Naruto a dirty look.

"Whatever you say, you big pervert!"

"I am a highly skilled ninja." He jabbed a thumb at his chest, grinning proudly before he got a creepy look on his face, wiggling his fingers as though he was groping something in the air. "Being a pervert is just a bonus."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru who hadn't noticed that Naruto had walked closer to him. "See what I have to put up with?" He turned to his sensei, his eyes near closed as he pointed at him accusingly. "STOP PERVING ON THE GIRLS AND HELP ME! IT TAKES ME HOURS TO RELEASE ALL MY CHAKRA. YOU'RE MEANT TO BE SO WISE, HOW ABOUT THINKING OF A BETTER WAY FOR ME TO BUILD UP THE CHAKRA I NEED OTHER THAN SUMMONING CLONES TO FIGHT AND TAKE UP MY CHAKRA!"

Shikamaru cringed at the volume Naruto reached. None of it really made any sense to him. Why would you want to empty your chakra to train? He looked over at the white haired man, expecting him to hit Naruto for such disrespect. Jiraiya did look annoyed. Jiraiya took a deep breath, making Shikamaru think he was trying to calm himself.

_He must have more patient than anyone in the world_.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU HAVE RIDICULOUS LEVELS OF CHAKRA AND STAMINA! IF YOU COULD CONTROL IT BETTER THAN WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND YOU WOULD HAVE MASTERED THE JUTSU!"

Both Asuma-Sensei and Shikamaru stepped back in shock, not expecting the response they saw. The two shared a look before backing away from the two loud mouths who continued to argue, firing insults at each other at a high volume. Once their voices had became distant echoes Shikamaru let out a breath.

"They're the same!" he stated in surprise. "They are exactly the same, just about forty year's difference."

"That's a scary thought." Asuma-Sensei let a breath rush out of his lips, his cigarette having fallen out of his mouth by the river. "Who were we up to in the strategies?"

"I don't remember."

_**Ahh, awkward situations, aren't they the best?! I'm enjoying tormenting Shikamaru. The next chapter should cover up to the start of the final Chunin exam. I have it planned out so it shouldn't take too long for me to write. I don't make any promises though. Please R and R.**_


	6. A Cunning Sensei

He was evil. Hell, he was downright diabolical! And he loved every moment of it. If his little student ever discovered that he planned all of this then that little genius would find a way to torment him to no end. Admittedly Asuma would enjoy Shikamaru blushing over the situation as he exacted his revenge. He could even use this moment as black mail to make Shikamaru work harder but that would mean showing his hand and having Shikamaru not know that Asuma was aware of his feelings for Naruto was too much fun.

Smiling, he turned the pieces of meat over on the barbeque, watching as they cooked. He wasn't as skilled in the art of culinary as Choji was so he had to be careful to not overcook the meat. He wouldn't want to ruin anything.

"So how is your training going?" Shikamaru asked, not making eye contact but instead looking bored at the rest of the restaurant.

"Horribly. I can't get this stupid jutsu and I pass out at the end of every training session, meaning Pervy-Sage has to take me home," Naruto slurred, eyes drooping. If they didn't get food into the blond soon than Asuma's plan would go down the drain. "It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't reorganize my whole house when he gets bored."

Shikamaru's hand shot out, so quickly that Asuma blinked in surprise. The young boy had grabbed Naruto's shoulder without looking at the blond, stopping him from falling forward onto the hot barbeque. Shooting the blond a look, he pushed Naruto back, making him rest against the back of the booth chair. With his head resting against the plush surface Naruto looked over at Shikamaru with half hooded eyes and smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"Troublesome." He looked away again, resting his chin against his palm. The small smile wasn't lost on Asuma.

"Here." Asuma started piling food onto Naruto's plate, deeming it cooked enough. "Once you eat you'll feel better. I can't believe you have never experience chakra depletion."

"Usually I pass out," Naruto explained, shoveling food into his mouth.

"Ts, don't talk with your mouth full," Shikamaru groaned before slowly eating his own food.

"Sorry," Naruto said, having the decency to cover his mouth, even though it was still full. He swallowed. "At least you didn't chock me with my mouth full this time."

Asuma stifled a laugh as Shikamaru rolled his eyes. The more Naruto ate the more energy he regained making it less likely he would collapse onto the barbeque. Even though the danger was gone, Asuma noticed that Shikamaru kept looking over at Naruto in worry. The boy also put an extra large helping of the meat onto the barbeque when Naruto commented that he was enjoying it.

"How is your training going, Shikamaru? That shadow thingy you use is pretty cool." Naruto asked the question before eating some more, earning a reluctant smile from Shikamaru.

"It's a drag." Shikamaru sighed before frowning at Asuma. "Asuma-Sensei is a slave driver."

"You're just lazy." Asuma's smile grew when the genin blushed upon hearing Naruto laugh.

"You two are a lot alike!" Naruto grinned, his eyes closed.

"You're one to talk," Shikamaru muttered. He slid out of the booth waving a hand lazily at the two males. "I'm going to the bathroom."

Naruto shrugged, seeming unfazed by the dark haired boy's distant behaviour. Then again, Shikamaru probably acted the same way back in the academy. Asuma looked over his sake cup at Naruto who was happily munching on his food. Colour had returned to his face and he now didn't look as though he was going to topple over. He had a smile on his face, something that Asuma had not really seen him without. The two were very different. Shikamaru was lazy, very rarely looked like anything other than bored or irritated and often judged a situation before even thinking of opening his mouth. Naruto on the other hand was energetic, expressive and seemed to say what ever came to mind. It made Asuma wonder if the reason Shikamaru liked Naruto was because the blond did such rash things that perhaps surprised even Shikamaru.

Finishing his sake, Asuma smiled at Naruto who didn't seem to suspect anything. Putting his cup down, Asuma had another piece of barbequed meat, chewing it slowly.

"Thank you for inviting me to dinner." Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before taking a large gulp of water, draining his glass.

"Well I could tell that Shikamaru was worried about you in the state you were so I couldn't let you walk home like that." He watched Naruto look down, looking happy. Unfortunately he couldn't read Naruto's expression as easily as he could Shikamaru. "I think I'll go order some more drinks for the table. Do you want water again?"

When Naruto nodded Asuma slid out of his seat, trying to not look to eager to leave. Shikamaru was bound to return soon. He walked around the corner to the bar, making sure to take a seat at the end, where he could easily see the table. Lucky for him the bar wasn't as well lit as the dining area, meaning that the two shouldn't be able to see him as easily as he could see them. He ordered a sake for himself and water to be sent to the table before turning back to look to the table. As he did he spotted Shikamaru's slouched form sliding into Asuma's vacant seat. He tried not to curse. He had hoped that Shikamaru would sit next to Naruto again, even with Asuma's seat empty.

Shikamaru said something to Naruto, looking around. Whatever Naruto replied made Shikamaru scowl and say something that looked suspiciously like 'troublesome'. Asuma could never truly be sure… well he could, since it was Shikamaru. It was either 'troublesome' or 'what a drag'. He tried not to sigh when he noticed that the two had not spoken a word since the small exchanged he had witnessed. He had thought his plan would work well but apparently between Naruto having an appetite as large as Choji's and Shikamaru not being a talkative person conversation was not going to thrive. So much for Asuma creating this date for Shikamaru and Naruto. At this rate it would lead to nothing but awkward silence.

He was about to give up when he noticed Shikamaru heave a sigh, resting his chin on his palm. Next moment his eyes slid over to the blond and he spoke. Asuma could have cheered. Luckily he held it in. The grin on his face was definitely drawing attention from the others at the bar though.

"What are you up to?"

He jumped, recognizing that voice from years of being scolded. Turning, he tried to not look guilty. "Dad! I'm not doing anything."

His dad gave him a look that that clearly said he didn't believe Asuma. Looking around he seemed to spot Shikamaru who seemed to be laughing at something Naruto said.

"Oh, I see Naruto is here," his father exclaimed. "I'm glad to see he is making friends. I was worried for a long time that he never would. Konahamaru has taken a liking to him, which isn't necessarily a good thing." He sighed, hopping onto the stool next to Asuma, shooting the man a dark look for chuckling at the way he struggled, thanks to his height. "Naruto thought it would be a good thing to teach Konahamaru the jutsu he created. Konahamaru is obsessed with it now."

"Are you talking about Naruto's sexy jutsu? What is it?" Asuma took a sip of his sake, waiting for his father to reply.

His father, however, just gave him a look that made Asuma feel very stupid. "Naruto turns himself into a sexy woman… it's kind of in the name."

He did have a point but it did make Asuma wonder if perhaps Shikamaru actually had feelings for this 'sexy, female Naruto' instead of the real Naruto. One look back at the booth made him rethink that thought. "You know his been using that on his sensei?"

"Kakashi?"

"The Toad-Sage."

"Ah, that makes more sense. I can't see Kakashi falling for it. Though it is convincing." His father scratched his cheek which was turning red.

"Naruto has used it on you, hasn't he? Ouch." He pressed a hand to the crown of his head, glaring at his father who was calmly talking to the bartender as though nothing had happened. "Is Naruto the one Konahamaru calls boss all the time? Whenever I see him he is going on about his boss, who is going to be Hokage and is the greatest."

"That would be him!" His father accepted the sake off the bartender with a kind smile. "You haven't told me what you're doing here?"

"I came here with Shikamaru and Naruto but decided to let the two kids talk." If his father found out about Asuma's plan then the whole village would know about Shikamaru's feelings by tomorrow. Ever that or his father would torment the two.

His father looked over at the booth, noticing how the two genins were now holding a conversation easily. "I'm glad Kakashi and Jiraiya have been keeping Naruto busy. I don't have to deal with complains about his pranks. People seem more willing to accept him too. Shikamaru has always been good to Naruto though, and I'm sure Naruto knows it, even if he doesn't know just how much."

"What do you mean?"

"Iruka was their teacher in the academy. He admitted to me a little after Naruto graduated that Naruto couldn't read until he was ten, which would explain how his marks were so low. Shikamaru had been the one to bring it to Iruka's attention. He also told Iruka when some boys in the class nearly got Naruto killed by an enemy ninja. That was around when Shikamaru first met Naruto. I always wondered if those two were friends." His father took a generous mouthful of sake, letting Asuma ponder what he had just found out. "By the way, next time I have a meeting concerning the Jonin teachers, make sure you pay complete attention. I don't appreciate you staring at Kurenai whilst I'm speaking."

Asuma started coughing; making the sake he had swallowed burn. "I was paying attention, Dad. I heard every word."

"So you heard the part where I selected you to run drills with the first year academy students the day after the chunin exams?"

"Of course, I'm… looking forward to it." He tried not to grimace at the thought of teaching a bunch of six year olds how to not take their eye out with a kunai but he couldn't admit to his dad that he had not heard a word about it at the meeting.

"Excellent. Iruka is looking forward to the break."

"Can't wait." His smile was strained, he knew that. Next moment he noticed Shikamaru and Naruto getting up, walking towards them. Because of this he didn't see the satisfied smirk his father wore.

Shikamaru and Naruto were walking at a leisurely pace, still talking. Naruto had his hands behind his head, his eyes mere slits. The dark haired boy, however, slipped one hand into his pocket, the other holding onto a white slip of paper. The bill! Asuma had forgotten that he said he would pay and he had no clue how much the two ended up eating. Then again, if he found himself short he could always rope his father into helping him pay. The old man seemed to like Naruto after all. Either way it would be money well spent. He could tell just by looking at him that Shikamaru had enjoyed his date with Naruto, even if he didn't realize what his sensei had done. He grinned, feeling proud of himself as the two stopped in front of him.

_**So Asuma is evil! I wasn't planning to write this chapter from his POV at all, but I have noticed that so far the story has been Shikamaru-Asuma-Shikamaru in a pattern. That is really not intentional at all. Next chapter will be from Shikamaru's POV and should take us up to the start of the Chunin exams maybe up to the start of the invasion, depending on the length and how the story progresses.**_

_**The Third Hokage is a sly old fox, isn't he?**_

_**Please R and R, it really helps with motivation and knowing I'm not wasting my time.**_


	7. A Dead Sensei

_**I have been getting questions sent to me, some people even in-boxing me so I have decided to answer them… sort of.**_

_**Firstly, the reason Naruko is in the filters is because someone looking for a story where Naruto is, or might be, a girl is more likely to look under Naruko. However, I have not changed Naruto's name so no, 'Naruko' is not appearing in this story. This story is about a possible female Naruto.**_

_**As for Naruto's gender. Many of you have reviewed asking me to tell you, others have reviewed asking when it will be revealed. I am going to be so kind and answer these questions now. You will find out when Shikamaru does! There are two main reasons for this. The first is that the story is from Shikamaru's or someone close to Shikamaru's POV. All of them except Shikamaru think that Naruto is a boy, and even the lazy genius isn't sure. The second reason for the secrecy is that it is fun!**_

It should have been obvious that he was up to something. Yet, Shikamaru had let his feelings get the better of him. He had thought that Asuma was just trying to help Naruto and since Shikamaru was worried about the blond too he didn't question the situation. When they had seen Naruto staggering around the streets it was clear something wasn't right. He couldn't even remember what direction his apartment was in. Shikamaru had thought that was the only reason that Asuma invited Naruto to join them for dinner. Returning from the bathroom, however, made him think his sensei may have had other plans.

He slid into the empty bench, looking around.

"Where did Asuma-Sensei go?"

"To get more drinks," Naruto replied, covering his mouth to try and hide the food that was currently being minced by his teeth.

"Troublesome."

Naruto was nice enough to hand him his plate, allowing him to return to his meal. The silence that descended on them was heavy, weighting on Shikamaru's shoulders. His dinner companion didn't seem to notice. It was rare, even back in the academy, for the two to actually be alone together. Multiple questions sprung through his head, things he wanted to ask the blond. Such as: are you a girl? If so, why are you hiding it? What do you think of me? Where do you put all that food?

He rested his chin on his hand, sighing. Looking over at Naruto, Shikamaru decided to break the silence. "So how's being in a team with Sasuke and Sakura?"

Naruto swallowed the mouth full of food. "Not bad, actually. Sasuke and I tag team really well. We were even able to take one of the seven swordsmen on. He's still annoying and thinks his better than everyone but it turns out our styles complement each other. I'm more close range and long lasting whilst his more mid range and strategy. His chakra is a lot lower than mine too so he lets me do most of the hard hits; though he will say that he does _all_ the fighting."

"You and I would complement each other too then," Shikamaru stated before he could stop himself. He could have banged his head against the table if it wouldn't draw attention and if the table wasn't mostly a hot grill. Naruto was bound to make fun of him.

The blond looked thoughtful before nodding. "I haven't seen much of your fighting but you might be right. Kakashi said that I'm like a giant kunai that you just point in the right direction. That's probably why he prefers to train Sasuke. He always gets all the attention."

Shikamaru thanked the waiter who had placed a jug of water on the table. He reached over and took Naruto's glass, filling it for him. "Truthfully I think you are better off with your new sensei."

"How so?" Naruto put his chopsticks down, giving Shikamaru a confused and slightly hurt look.

"Your new sensei is one of the Sannin, so he is more powerful than Kakashi-Sensei, and on top of that he is a lot like you as a ninja so he will know better how to train you. Not only that but he probably knows jutsus that are better suited for your style. Plus you're the only one his willing to teach. He hasn't taught anyone since the fourth Hokage."

Naruto thought over Shikamaru's words before smiling. "You've got a point. Though whenever Pervy-Sage gets annoyed that I'm not getting it… or gets bored he tends to throw me in the river. That's why I wasn't wearing pants when you saw me."

Clearing his throat Shikamaru looked away, only for his eyes to drift back to Naruto as the blond scratched his side, lifting his shirt enough that Shikamaru caught sight of bandages. _Does he wear binding bandages or was he injured? That would explain the weird shape to his torso though. The bandages would obscure any male or female features to his chest._

"It's not too bad though. The other day he was so busy researching that he didn't notice me coming up behind him. I tackled him straight through the bushes into the middle of the group of girls who thought he was attacking me. They ended up stomping him. Then I stole his research book." Naruto pulled it out of his back pocket waving it victoriously. "I told him he can get it back after the chunin exams. Every time he tries to get it back I put it in my pants."

Shikamaru found himself chuckling, enjoying the image of the great Sannin being defeated by a twelve-year-old prankster. The more he thought about that fearsome man being blackmailed by Naruto the more he found himself laughing.

"Does Asuma-Sensei do weird things that annoy you?" Naruto asked, picking up his cup.

He almost said 'tonight' but refrained. He had no clue what Asuma-Sensei was really up to. It was possible he just thought Shikamaru should socialize and that this was the best way to get him to do so. "Not really, though he is always getting me to play random games and solve puzzles. The ones who do weird things would be Choji and Ino."

"How so?"

Smiling, Shikamaru leant forward. "Well, when Choji first learn the Human Boulder, he didn't know how to control his directions since he was spinning so fast. Unfortunately this caused some issues for… everyone. After destroying three trees and a bench he was able to stop himself just as he crashed into Ino. Not only did they go flying into the river but well… Ino can't give her first kiss to Sasuke now."

Naruto snorted before laughing. "I'm surprised that Choji is still alive."

"It took the combined strength of Asuma-Sensei and I to stop her from drowning him after she got over the shock. Now whenever she's annoying me I ask her what it was like to kiss a teammate."

He was enjoying making Naruto laugh and just talking to him in general. Truthfully he hadn't been able to hear the blond laugh before. Usually Naruto sniggered at something, which tended to be something said or done that Iruka-Sensei wasn't happy about. It was good to know that Naruto actually did laugh.

The waiter appeared at the table, giving the two a raised eyebrow before speaking. "Are you both finished with your meal?"

Looking at Naruto, he let the blond answer, who patted his belly with a happy smile. "Yes, thank you."

"I'll be back with the check in just a moment." The waiter gave them one last odd look before walking off.

Naruto took another sip of his water before sighing. "I guess we should find Asuma-Sensei to get him to pay for the food." He grinned. "Thanks for inviting me."

Trying not to blush Shikamaru gave Naruto a bored expression. "Yeah… it was nice to have someone to talk to since Asuma-Sensei decided to go drink."

Shikamaru snatched the check out of the waiter's hand, refusing to look at his face and yet again see that expression. Sliding out of the booth, he waited for Naruto to do the same before walking in the direction of the bar. Naruto put his hands behind his head, smiling.

"Ah, more training tomorrow." The blond sighed. "Hopefully I can master this jutsu before the chunin exams."

"You don't have much longer though," Shikamaru reminded, slowly walking towards his sensei.

"Yeah, Pervy-Sage said that if I don't get it soon he will take drastic measures."

He smiled, imagining what that would mean for Naruto. From the sounds of it his furniture could end up glued to his roof. When they reached Asuma-Sensei he was surprised to see the Third Hokage smiling at them. He chose not to question why the Hokage was there as he handed Asuma-Sensei the check. It was possible he saw his son when he came in for dinner and decided to join him. The Hokage smiled at them, asking how their training went. Shikamaru answered with a simple 'fine' whilst Naruto complained about not being able to get the jutsu his sensei was teaching him.

"I am sure you will get it eventually," Hokage assured, giving Naruto a kind smile.

"How do you feel, Naruto?" Asuma-Sensei looked concerned but Shikamaru could see that he was holding back a smile.

"A lot better now. Thanks, Asuma-Sensei." The blond smiled, hands still behind his head.

"That's good to hear but I don't want you walking home alone." He looked at his student, his eyes alight. "Shikamaru, walk Naruto home. And no arguing!"

Shikamaru closed his mouth, grumbling to himself before turning and walking out of the barbeque restaurant. He could hear Naruto's footsteps drawing up beside him. Shikamaru didn't say anything to the blond, not particularly wanting to start a conversation. He had wanted to end the night back there, where he could either walk home alone or leave Naruto and walk with Asuma-Sensei. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed himself. On the contrary, he hadn't expected to enjoy himself so much. It was just that the night was starting to feel more and more like a date to him and it was affecting his thoughts. His brain was telling him to run. Unfortunately his body was declaring mutiny.

Naruto didn't seem to mind the silence and was simply walking beside Shikamaru. After he unlocked his front door, Naruto turned to look at the dark haired boy.

"Thanks. Sorry Asuma-Sensei made you walk me home."

"It's alright," Shikamaru muttered, trying to pull his eyes away from Naruto's face. The blond's eyes were open now and looked brighter than usual.

Naruto suddenly looked concerned and grabbed Shikamaru's shoulders. It was only than that Shikamaru realized that he was leaning forward, towards Naruto. Of course he had thought about… it, but he hadn't planned to actually go through with it. Wasn't he hoping to squish his feelings? Yet he felt disappointed that Naruto stopped him. Especially when he realized that he was only centimeters away from the blond.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, his grip on Shikamaru's shoulders tightening as he straightened the dark haired boy up. "You just started falling."

"Yeah, I just got lost in thought." Shikamaru cleared his throat, looking at Naruto's lips one last time before inwardly scolding himself and turning.

"Night." He walked off, waving over his shoulder when Naruto returned his goodbye.

He scolded himself all the way back to the Nara estate. All he could think was that if he had succeeded, if Naruto hadn't stopped him than he would have been stuck with his feelings. However, his feelings had yet to disappear and instead seemed to get worse. He was beginning to fear that they would never leave.

When he reached his home he didn't say a word to anyone and instead went to his room, lying on his bed with his hands behind his head. He decided to do what Asuma-Sensei always told him to do. Evaluate the situation.

The situation was fairly simple: he had feelings for a girl who dressed like a boy. But there was no inherit issue there. He didn't care how she dressed as long as she was comfortable. It wasn't that she was dumb either or that they had nothing in common since both those things weren't completely true either. There were things that they shared and Naruto had an unusual intelligence, shown in the way she looked at the world. So why was he so against having feelings for her?

His eyes widened and his hands balled into fists behind his head. _Her! She!_ He never referred to Naruto as those things unless he was thinking about how she was hiding her identity and even then it was rare. Shikamaru always referred to Naruto as 'he', even in his mind. There was no point in doing so. Whatever reason Naruto kept her gender a secret wouldn't be affected by Shikamaru referred to the blonde as 'she' in the safety of his own mind.

There was no real reason for Shikamaru to get rid of his feelings unless Naruto did not feel the same or if Naruto was actually interested in girls. Shikamaru had thought that she liked Sakura. Those were the two things he wouldn't know unless he asked the questions to the blond herself. Now he really wished he had followed through earlier. He would have received his answer a lot quicker and at least he would have succeeded in doing something he had thought about more than he would like to admit. It was with that that Shikamaru decided two things. The first was that he was going to refer to Naruto as a female within his mind. The second was that he was going to stop trying to get rid of his feelings. Whether he acted on them was another story.


	8. Not A Demon

_**So, originally this chapter and chapter 7 were one but it got to big…. I also had plans for this (1 now 2) chapter to go all the way to the end of the chunin exams, start of the invasion buuuut…. That didn't happen. I didn't expect to go so much into detail but the scene in Naruto's hospital room was the thought that started this story. I asked my friend why Shikamaru was there and insinuated that he was worried about Naruto in a more-than-friend way. So now this is my interpretation of the scene, looking at Shikamaru's thoughts.**_

It wasn't really surprising, given how he eats, but nonetheless, Shikamaru still trekked down the corridor to the room the nurse had rudely read out for him. The way she acted you would think he had said something offensive like her red nose hairs didn't match her black hair… which it didn't, but he kept that to himself. Deciding to forget the disgruntled woman, Shikamaru knocked on the door to Choji's hospital room. When he heard his friend give him permission to enter, he slid the door open, waving the basket of fruit for his friend to see. Choji groaned, looking pale.

"Shikamaru, don't be mean! I'm not allowed to eat for at least another twelve hours." Choji groaned again, lying back against the mound of pillows behind him. No doubt his mother had come by. His friend looked pale under his red swirls.

"Yeah, the doctors told me just before I came in. At least you know I did bring you something." Shikamaru sat on the chair next to Shikamaru's bed, putting the fruit basket on the floor, out of Choji's sight. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Not really. Sorry I won't be able to help with training."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Don't worry. Asuma-Sensei gave me the the day off until the finals. If I'm not good enough now then I won't be with a day more of training."

"I'm sure you will make it, Shikamaru." Choji gave his friend a smile before he suddenly looked serious. "Did you hear about Naruto?"

It was hard to describe the feeling that washed through him. It was something akin to swallowing cement. He tried to form his face into a look of mild interest whereas he wants to shake the answers about Naruto out of Choji whilst also running out of the room to find Naruto and check on her himself.

"What about him?"

"He's been unconscious for three days now. The nurses found him outside beside a big frog footprint. His chakra plummeted and there were stories about a giant toad… a couple of people even tried to say that the fourth Hokage was back from the dead… those people were drunk though." Choji gave a soft smile. "Don't worry. When I heard them talking I made sure to ask how he was. They expect him to wake up sometime soon. So he will be awake for tomorrow… though I don't know if he will be okay to compete."

"I don't know why you bothered to ask," Shikamaru said as he fidgeted in his seat before giving his best friend a small smile. "Thanks."

He expected Choji to comment. Instead he yawned widely and somewhat over dramatically. "My parents were here a couple of minutes ago and apparently Asuma-Sensei is going to drop by later. Who would have thought it was so exhausting to be sick."

"How about I go so you can get some rest?" Shikamaru stood up, the shogi board bumping against his fingers as he picked up his basket.

"Thanks." Choji watched Shikamaru walk towards the door before speaking up again. "Can you visit Naruto? I don't know if he'll have anyone. Sakura seems to forget about him thanks o Sasuke and Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei are too busy training. Not to mention I'm pretty sure his new sensei is the reason he is in the hospital. Do you think you could?"

Shikamaru stood with his hand on the open door. "Sure. It's a drag but I suppose I could… for you, I mean."

"Of course. Thanks, Shikamaru." Choji grinned as Shikamaru waved and walked out, closing the door behind him. He went to the reception desk to ask where Naruto's room was but he received an odd reply. The nurse gave him the room number but then looked darkly at Shikamaru.

"I don't know why you want to visit that monster. It would just be easier if he stayed asleep… or just died." The nurse walked away, ramming her shoulder into Shikamaru's as she did. She had boney shoulders.

He had seen that behaviour before when it came to Naruto but he still didn't understand it. He had asked his father about her once before and he had replied that Shikamaru should come up with his own thoughts on Naruto. His mother hadn't looked happy about that. Shikamaru had to wonder what his father would think if he knew about his son's feelings for the blonde. Would he continue to believe that Shikamaru should come up with his own opinion or would he start to take on the mind of the other villages?

He knocked on the door, receiving no answer. Opening the door slowly, he looked in, worried that he would find Naruto in a state that would result in him getting hit. There was no need to worry since Naruto was still asleep, the blankets falling off the side of the bed. The blonde looked cold though, making Shikamaru wonder if anyone had bothered to check on her. Judging by the way the nurse acted, probably not. The dark haired boy walked forward, putting the fruit basket on the ground. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it back over the girl, up to her chin. The shivering stopped after a moment and a peaceful look came over her face.

_I wonder how deeply she's sleeping_, he thought, reaching out and brushing some hair from her forehead. She didn't react in the slightest, making him move his hand down to her cheek, stroking the skin. Again she didn't react! The more he stared the more daring he got. Leaning down, he felt his nose brush against Naruto's. He held his breath, ready to jump back if Naruto started to wake up. When she didn't he went to close the gap between them, only to quickly move to the side, kissing Naruto's cheek.

Moving away, he started to set up his shogi board, his back facing Naruto. As he played he continually looked over his shoulder, worried that the sleeping girl wouldn't wake up. If Naruto found out that she slept through the final chunin exams then she would never forgive herself. She seemed determined to beat Neji after what he did to Hinata.

"Man, is he ever going to wake up. Maybe the kid croaked!" He let a rush of air escape his nose when he remembered exactly what animal reportedly helped Naruto get into this situation. He stared at Naruto for a moment, wondering if his words would register before turning back to the shogi board with a heavy sigh. He was really starting to worry. He had already played a full round of shogi without Naruto even moving. After a moment he realized that the only other sound in the room besides two breathing bodies had disappeared. Looking at the timer beside him he noticed that something was wrong.

"Huh, the sand stopped. What's up with that? Did they forget to wind it or something." That was just annoying. He couldn't even play shogi in peace. "What a drag."

Noise behind him drew his attention. Turning in his seat he noticed Naruto's eyes opening, making him smile. After a quick scan of the room those blue eyes move over to him, looking confused.

"Soo, you decided to wake up, huh?" He decided to not mention how glad he was that Naruto didn't wake up earlier.

"Where am I? What is this?"

"The hospital. They said you've been out cold like this for three days start."

"Three days…" Naruto muttered, seeming to slowly progress the words before she blew up. "THREE DAYS START!" She jumped up, standing on her bed and making Shikamaru worry about her.

"Ah, yeah, more or less."

"SHIKAMARU, WHEN DOES THE FINAL COMPETITION BEGIN?"

He should have guessed that's what was wrong with her. "Ahh, tomorrow." That seemed to do little to calm Naruto down. If anything she looked worse. Was this one of the ways that Naruto showed stress?

"WHAT?!" Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's jacket, making a thought pop into his head. "ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP SOONER? I CAN'T BE LYING AROUND AT A TIME LIKE THIS. I'VE GOTTA BE GETTING READY! AND PERVY-SAGE! WHERE'S PERVY-SAGE? THAT OLD COOT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SUPERVISING MY TRAINING."

"Hey, calm down, Kid, get a grip!" Shikamaru started, his neck hurting having to look up at Naruto at such a close angle. He decided to not point out that he didn't actually wake the blonde up, or the fact that he actually didn't mind Naruto man-handling him like this… that was something he was planning to analyze at a later date, if he was feeling brave enough. Though the angry face wasn't something he was enjoying. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Naruto pushed Shikamaru away, scrambling to the other side of the bed. "Where's my clothes? I got to get dressed. Where'd they put them? Oh come on…"

She looked under her pillow, down the back of her bed and then seemed to repeat the progress. Shikamaru was too stunned to say anything. He hadn't even realized the fact that, yet again, Naruto was in nothing but a t-shirt and boxer shorts. Why was this becoming a habit?

"Oh, man," he muttered, putting a hand to his head. "This kid gives me such a headache. I liked him a lot better when he was in a coma. WOULD YOU KNOCK IT OFF?! Now listen, you don't want to be freaking out the day before a big competition. Resting can be the best thing." He stopped when Naruto suddenly sat down facing the wall. He hadn't expected that to actually work. Hell, it never really worked for Iruka-Sensei. "Are you… okay? Is something wrong?"

He heard a loud growl before Naruto looked over her shoulder, holding her stomach as tears ran down her face. "Yeah, I'm really starving!"

His shoulders relaxed and he gave Naruto an odd look. "Is that all? Man, stop scaring me like that!" A thought just came to his mind. It would work out perfectly. "Oh, look at this." He put the fruit basket on the bed. "I went through all the trouble of getting this stuff for Choji and then the doctors told me he couldn't have it. Such a drag. But at least we can eat it."

"Choji. You mean he's here in the hospital too?" Naruto looked concerned.

"Nothing to worry about. All his got is a bad case of indigestion. He ate one short-rib to many." He tried not to laugh at his friend's misfortune but it was kinda funny.

Naruto, however, didn't hold in her laughter. "I should have figured. That's just like him."

"Yeah, well you two are just lucky I'm around or you wouldn't have any visitors." He throw an apple at Naruto, who caught it easily. "Here."

Naruto smiled. "Oh, wow, this looks delicious," she stated, rubbing it on her shirt. She brought it to her mouth, only to look shocked before even taking a bite.

"What? What is it now?" He was worried she would start yelling again, or grab him again. He had banned his brain from thinking on it's own after the last time. The things it comes up with should not be his responsibility.

Naruto started chuckling evilly, something Shikamaru recognized from the academy. _This should be good_.

"Let's eat it in front of Choji. It'll drive him crazy."

"Man that's mean. I like it!" He chucked, picking up the basket, leading Naruto in the direction of Choji's room. They were only two corridors away when they saw Ino.

"Hey, what are you two doing? Naruto, why aren't you wearing pants?"

"We're going to eat this in front of Choji." Shikamaru held up the basket as Naruto just shrugged uncaringly. "You know, keep him company, and torment him a little. Not to mention Naruto is starving." He looked at the blonde then, only to notice she wasn't paying attention.

She resembled a dog that had heard an intruder. Naruto stood tall, her head angle slightly, looking down another corridor with an intense look. Before he could question her, her hand shot down, taking the basket from his hands and thrusting it into Ino's arms.

"Ino, go ahead, we'll meet you in Choji's room. There is something I need Shikamaru for."

Shikamaru had only a moment to return Ino's confused look before Naruto grabbed his hand, pulling him down the adjacent corridor. The moment Ino was out of sight she started running, dragging Shikamaru with her.

"Naruto, wait up, what's this about?"

He didn't expect the blonde to stop and turn suddenly towards him. If she hadn't grabbed his shoulders then they would have ended up on the ground. She didn't seem to notice that Shikamaru's hands had went to her hips. He had no idea what girls' hips were like but Naruto's certainly seemed different from his. They came out from her stomach more, creating a curve. He tried not to blush at the contact, or how close they were standing.

"He's here. I can feel it!" Naruto stated, looking Shikamaru straight in the eyes with a level of alarm and seriousness that he had never seen before in the blonde. "I felt this same feeling during the preliminaries. It took me a while to realize who was causing it though. He's here. This is not good."

There was a painful emptiness in his stomach until everything she was saying registered. She was worried, and… territorial? "Who?"

"Gaara of the Sand." She grabbed Shikamaru's wrist, starting to run down the hallway again. "Bushy-Brow is this way. Come on!"

She had been right. Lee was surrounded by Gaara's sand. Shikamaru activated his jutsu just in time to stop Gaara from hurting an unconscious Lee. He almost released it when Naruto punched the red head. He hadn't realized she had such a strong hit on her.

"What the heck do you think you're doing in here, you rat?" Her hair seemed to be standing on end more than usual, though it was hard to judge with her face in so much pain.

"Hey, man, go easy! I'm using my Shadow Possession jutsu so when you're bashing him you're bashing me too. You got it?" he hadn't meant to sound so angry, especially when he realized that Naruto probably didn't have a jutsu like his, where her body was put into risk.

Naruto actually looked really worried. "Oh, sorry, Shikamaru."

As Gaara's sand armour started to crack and fall Naruto walked closer to Shikamaru, stopping and facing the red head. At first the dark haired boy thought it was to distance herself from Gaara, the threat, but then he realized, Naruto wasn't afraid, and she was a close range attacker. She stood slightly in front of Shikamaru, her fists clenched and her face hard. Her body was turned ever so slightly towards Shikamaru's though, as he was turned towards hers. He stood ready to knock Naruto out of the way if needed. Naruto was trying to protect him! Both from Gaara and her own anger.

"Out with it!" she growled. "What were you trying to pull?"

Gaara just stared at Naruto, unmoving, which seemed to infuriate Naruto even more. He slowly healed his face. She reminded him of an animal defending it's territory, and it's… family.

"Well? Are you going to tell us what you were going to do?" Naruto grounded out, surprisingly not yelling at the top of her lungs like Shikamaru expected.

"I was going to kill him," Gaara replied calmly in his surprisingly deep voice.

Even with all the evidence, Shikamaru was surprised.

"What?" Naruto apparently was too, even though she dragged him in here fearing danger.

_This guy's one cool customer. Look at him! He's not even fazed by my Shadow Possession jutsu._ "You already beat once in the competition. What's your problem? Wasn't that enough for you? Do you have some kind of personal grudge against him or something?"

"I have nothing against him. It's nothing that complicated; I simply want to kill him. That's all."

Gaara's confession did little to help Naruto. Every muscle in her body seemed to tense, pure rage turning her face somewhat comical.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE SICK IN THE HEAD!" she yelled, pointing at the man. "YOU'RE CRAZY!" She was shaking, and he swore that her canine teeth seemed sharper.

"Yeah, you think we're just going to stand by and let you do whatever you want?" Shikamaru spat, disgusted in the person before him, "You sick, selfish psycho!" _This guy gives me the creeps. There's always been something weird about him. Scary. If he decides to make a move I'm not sure we will be able to stop him. Naruto isn't going to back down. I don't know what has gotten into her. Gaara is a long distance attacker mainly. He will send out his sand, but at who first? Is he attacks me, Naruto will attack him. If he attacks Naruto first, since she does seem more threatening than me at the moment… I don't know if I'll be able to stop him. I can't let her get hurt._

"If you don't stay out of my way I'll have to kill you two as well."

"OH REALLY? LET'S JUST SEE YOU TRY IT!"

"Hey, wow, Kid, take it easy!" He couldn't have Naruto setting Gaara off, but she didn't seem to be calming down any time soon. _Best thing to try and do is bluff our way out of this._ He was shaking too now, but it wasn't for the same reason as Naruto who looked as though all her self control was being put into not hitting Gaara. She was holding her outstretched arm as though to pull it back forcibly. _It's me! I'm the one holding her back. She would already be trying to pound this guy into the ground if she didn't know it would hurt me! She did crack his sand armour though, which would have to be chewing up chakra. But that won't be enough._ He had to get her out of this, soon. "Yeah, yeah, we watched your last match against Lee. We know you're tough. But you know, Naruto and I have a few tricks up our sleeves as well. We were holding back during the competition. There are things you haven't seen yet. On top of that it's two against one. So don't be a fool, okay? Just take my advice and go. Quietly!"

Gaara's expression didn't change. "I'll say it once more. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

Every last bit of him was shaking now. Fear seemed to be the only emotion he could feel. _Okay, plan B. But why warn us again? What's holding him back? He is kind of tense though… and he's not looking at me, just Naruto._

"AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN! LET'S SEE YOU TRY IT!"

_She has a death wish!_ "Back off will ya? Don't want to _go _there." He tried to whisper but he was fairly certain his fear had disabled that ability. "This guy fights like he's mad. Like he's a demon or something!"

That seemed to strike a chord with Naruto, and not in the way Shikamaru was hoping. She pulled her anger hunched shoulders back. She grinned, making Shikamaru feel both safe and scared at the same time. There was something in her eyes, in the suddenly relaxed pose of her stance. She was… intimidating!

"He can act like a demon all he wants. But you know what? I have the real thing inside me!"

Shikamaru didn't understand. Yeah, he had heard people call Naruto a demon, but why was Naruto agreeing to it? She was not a demon! No one that funny, and open could be a demon. He could tell that Naruto was ready for a fight. She wasn't going to let Gaara walk away easily. That is, if they could get the psycho to back off.

He nudged Naruto with his elbow. "Idiot, leave this to me. What's the point in getting him mad?"

Gaara was looking more intensely at Naruto now, seeming to study her. Another, ugly emotion appeared in Shikamaru for a moment, taking over his fear. The two seemed to be having a staring contest. One angry, the other… oddly calm, or at least pretending to be. Finally, Gaara closed his eyes.

"A demon, huh? My demon is as real as yours is."

Shikamaru couldn't hide his surprise. This guy seemed to know what Naruto had been referring to.

Gaara opened his eyes, looking intently at Naruto. "From my birth my upbringing was not what most people would consider a happy one. To ensure that I became a strong shinobi, my father performed his jutsu on me, infusing my unborn self with a sand spirit. I destroyed the life of the woman who gave birth to me. I was born a monster!"

Shikamaru didn't know how to process the information that Gaara was giving them. A sand spirit with the same name as Shikamaru's father. He let his brain take over, noticing that Naruto was staring sharply at him, studying his appearance. "Yeah, some kind of demonic jutsu. But to use it on a baby, before it's even born, man, that's creepy." He didn't understand the pain that flickered over Naruto's face. "Gee, what a swell guy your dad must have been. He must have loved you a lot."

He thought that he could play on Gaara's relationship with his father. It was cruel, to try and make the guy feel depressed to try and take the fight out of him but all Shikamaru cared about was saving Naruto. However, he never expected Gaara to not care about his father, or any family member. Love seemed to be a foreign concept to the red head. He was born and raised to be a weapon only to regret it and try to kill a child. _How messed up!_

Whilst Shikamaru was confused by much of what Gaara said, Naruto didn't seem to be at all. Shikamaru thought that Gaara was simply out of his mind. Suddenly, Naruto took a step back.

"Hey, where are you going?" Shikamaru was worried. Why did she look so frightened? Not at Gaara but at something else. "What's wrong?"

Gaara made a move, seeming to see advantage in Naruto suddenly being immobilized. Shikamaru had no idea how he was doing it though, since he was still trapped in the dark haired boy's jutsu. Gaara wasn't just aiming at him, he was aiming at…

"NARUTO!"

She was frozen, staring at Gaara.

"HEY, WAKE UP!" he shouted desperately. "Oh, man, what a drag! NARUTO!"

If Guy-Sensei hadn't interfered Shikamaru didn't know what would have happened. He had no plan and Naruto was having some sort of break down. After Gaara left Guy-Sensei took a look at Lee, asking them if they knew if Gaara had done anything. When Shikamaru answered that they were fairly certain he hadn't Guy-Sensei decided to get a doctor anyway, just encase.

Naruto moved over to the wall, falling against it. He couldn't read Naruto's expression. She looked as though all the air had been let out of her body. She was leaning against the wall, not looking at him, but instead studying Lee's unmoving body. Or at least she seemed to be but her eyes were glazed over.

"I could have been just like him," she muttered. "I could have been blood-thirsty and just cared about killing… hurting."

Instantly his fists clenched and he marched over to her, grabbing her shoulders roughly. He met her surprised look with a hard, unrelenting one of his own. "You are nothing like him. I don't understand this demon thing you said but you are not a monster!" He put one hand on Naruto's flat stomach. "Even if some sick bastard put a demon spirit in you that wouldn't make you a demon or a monster."

"It's not just… we grew up the same." Naruto looked desperate, sorrowful, her eyes filling with tears.

"I know that the village has treated you badly, I can see some parallels, but you are not like Gaara. Naruto, what is your dream?"

"To become Hokage."

"Why did you choose that dream?"

"So that people would start respecting me and start treating me right." Naruto dropped her head, only for Shikamaru to push her chin up, making her blue eyes meet his brown. He doubted that his eyes drew hers as much as hers drew his. The blue of her eyes seemed almost unnatural. He hated the tears pooling within them.

"How were you planning to become Hokage? The leaders of the village have to vote after all. And what were you planning to do as Hokage?" He asked softly, becoming gentler with her, his hands now resting on her shoulder instead of gripping it, the other still resting on her stomach.

"I was planning to become a strong ninja, prove I was good enough and that I was capable of protecting the village with everything I have. This is my home and I want to protect it and I want… I want those in the village to want to protect me." She sniffled, wiping her eyes.

Shikamaru gave her a soft smile. "See? No demon. Naruto, you _could_ have ended up like that guy, but you are stronger than him and that's why you're the caring person you are. And just so you know, I _want_ to protect you!"

Naruto gave him a thankful smile only for her stomach to growl loudly, making both of them to chuckle, feeling the last bit of tension leave them.

"Come on, let's go see if Ino ate all the fruit on us." He took Naruto's hand and led her out of the room, relishing in the fact that she did not pull away but instead held tight.

When they reached Choji's room they found out Ino hadn't eaten any, and had stopped Choji from devouring any of the fruit too. Choji's eyes traveled from Shikamaru's face, to the conjoined hands, to Naruto's tearstained, pale face. From the look on his friend's face, Shikamaru guessed that Choji worked out something bad had happened. He gave a slight shake of his head though, not wanting to say in front of Ino. She would just worry.

"Naruto, honestly, where are your pants!?" Ino snapped.

Naruto just shrugged again. "Don't know. Couldn't find them."

"Well I'm going to go find them!" Ino stood up. "There is something unsettling about you walking around half dressed."

"Why?" Naruto asked as Ino walked passed. "I do it at home all the time."

Shikamaru decided to ignore that as he led Naruto over to the vacant chair and the fruit basket. Choji's curiosity wouldn't wait not that Ino was gone. Thankfully for his nerves Naruto didn't let go of his hand after sitting down in the chair. Eating an apple with her other hand as Shikamaru sat on the armrest of her chair. It was feeling her warmth that reminded him that they somehow got out of that situation safely. That she was okay.

When Choji got up after to go to the bathroom Shikamaru jumped, feeling fingers skim over his jaw. He looked at Naruto who was looking up at him with a frown on her face.

"I bruised you. I'm sorry. I didn't know." She stroked the flesh gently.

"It's okay. You were trying to protect someone." He gave her a lazy smile. "You never know, keep it up and you may just become Hokage!"


End file.
